usenet@ucbvax.ARPA (USENET News Administration) (10/01/85)
Age discrimination: Yes, it is surprizing that salaries in Europe are based on age. This is the case in Holland. There, academic salaries are based on a step scale based on age + years of experience. .... not so wonderful ...
goddard@rochester.UUCP (Nigel Goddard) (10/05/85)
Concerning the item about remuneration in Holland being based on age +
experience (for academics): whether or not this is a good thing depends
on what kind of society you want. Having worked in Holland for the
last three years (one as an academic), I would say that this method
of compensation suits Dutch society very well. It's probably anaethema
to most Americans.
Holland is highly socialized. Great emphasis is placed on the individual's
responsibility to society and vice versa. Individual rights and freedoms
are definitely not paramount. This is generally true of Europe as compared
to the U.S. The reasons behind age being a factor in remuneration are:
that older people are more likely to have dependents; that older people
have been contributing to society through their work for longer and
should be rewarded for that; and that one's pay should not be determined
solely by the market value of one's skills, but also by one's general
work contribution to society. In addition note that the wage differentials
as one gets older are not great. In return for this *care* by society
everyone gets to pay high taxes (~40% in Holland). As compared with the
situation in the U.S. (where you can be fired because your boss doesn't
like you -- is that so great?) in Europe there is a far greater awarness
of one's responsibility to society at large.
This probably sounds like complete craziness to Americans (and it doesn't
suit me either - that's one reason I'm here) but most Dutch people are
happy with it. Any further discussion of the relative merits of the
different systems should probably be directed to net.politics!!
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - for one or all?"
--
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