A hearing about plans to move the retirement age in the Netherlands from 65 to 67 is underway in parliament. Dozens of people, including union leaders, employers, independent experts and social scientists, will be questioned about the potential effects of the government measure.

The unions hope an alternative to increasing the pensionable age will emerge from the hearings even though MPs have already approved the bill.
 

In a two-step process, the new law raises the official retirement age to 66 in 2020, then to 67 in 2025. People performing physically demanding jobs are exempt, however. Lawmakers, unions and employers have so far been unable to reach an agreement on the definition of a physically demanding job.

The FNV, the largest trade union federation, is holding a demonstration outside the parliament buildings in The Hague today, but protests by public transport workers in Amsterdam and Utrecht were ruled illegal by a judge.
 

A union spokesperson says Rotterdam's public transport workers will take part in a customer-friendly protest on public transport on Wednesday in the Netherlands' largest city. Workers will neither sell nor check tickets between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in protest against the pension-age increase. Public transport workers in The Hague are also planning a protest on Wednesday. 
 

Cleaners at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport went ahead with a planned 24-hour work stoppage to protest against the cabinet measure after a judge ruled the strike was legal late on Tuesday evening. Two cleaning companies had petitioned the courts in an attempt to prevent the walkout, but lost the case.
 

Schiphol Airport says it will be monitoring the strike carefully but will only intervene if security at the international airport is compromised.

Photograph: 65 stays 65! fnvbouwfotos/Flickr