Thursday, 24 October 2013 - 12:52
Air Traffic Controllers Threaten to Leave Jobs
Dutch air traffic controllers threaten to quit jobs and leave the country if government reduces their pay in 2017.
The Association of the Dutch Air Traffic Controllers Guild (VNLG) said in an urgent letter to Secretary of Infrastructure and Environment Wilma Mansveld that air traffic controllers will leave the country if their pay slashes.
By 2017, the Dutch government plans to limit public sector salaries to that of a minister.
Pope Field Air Traffic Control Tower / Flickr
Currently, ministers make around €144,000 a year, while around half of the country's 225 air traffic controllers earn more than ministers, according to a news report by the Volkskrant.
The association also said that neighboring countries pay air traffic controllers more than the Netherlands and moving to those countries would be a better choice for controllers.