One in three pay and conditions agreements signed in the last two months has included a reduction in special benefits for older staff, Trouw reports on Friday.

The paper bases its claims after researching 25 pay deals.

In the past, pay deals often included generous extra holidays for the over 50s or over 55s. In many agreements older workers are also exempt from working at weekends or night shifts.

Employers organisation AWVN says special agreements for older workers have disappeared at around 15% of Dutch companies and this will increase to around 60% in the coming years.

‘It is happening step by step,’ AWVN spokesman Laurens Harteveld told Trouw. ‘We don’t take away the days from workers who are currently entitled them but we are trying to freeze them.’

Cost

The government’s socio-cultural think tank SCP warned earlier that the ‘senior days’ are stopping employers taking on more older staff because they are expensive and have to be replaced when on holiday.

The chemicals industry and manufacturing are most likely to have generous agreements for older workers, Trouw said.