Gerritdina Hans (63) cannot find a job. She wrote a letter to the newspaper because the EU wants to solve labor shortages by relaxing the rules for migrant workers from outside the EU. “I have twenty years of experience as a flight attendant at Lufthansa,” wrote Gerritdina. ‘I have received an enormous number of rejections, with the most diverse excuses (…) But age discrimination is never discussed in the Netherlands.’
She is ‘happy single’, has always been independent and never married, she lives in a bright, modern apartment on the Kop van Zuid in Rotterdam. There she says that she ‘really’ wants to fight, ‘maybe I should become an activist.’
The unemployment figures are lower than in years: 316 thousand unemployed in April, who as an older person can’t find work yet is ‘doing something wrong’, said a lady on Radio 1 who herself, coincidentally, runs an employment office for the elderly.
This is demonstrably nonsense. Unemployment has been falling among the elderly with difficulty for years, but the cliché that they are too expensive and too rigid is not true, according to professor of labor economics Joop Schippers and Jan Dirk Vlasblom of the Social and Cultural Planning Office. three years ago already established in a large-scale joint study. Older people apply no less often than younger people and are often prepared to adjust salary requirements downwards. The researchers only found “a clear negative association between age and job re-entry.”
Gerritdina Hans grew up in Zeist, daughter of a cattle dealer, tackling was part of it. That is also why her forced status on non-active status is unbearable.
She completed secretarial training in Schoevers, learned fluent Spanish and German as an au pair in Barcelona and Frankfurt, where she became a flight attendant with Lufthansa at the age of 21. When she was 35 and felt the need for a little more regularity, she started in the Netherlands as an executive secretary: Smiths Food Group, ‘international coordinator’ at Endemol and ten years of corporate events, as a self-employed person.
But the flying still appealed. And when Lufthansa was looking for staff in 2015, she applied again, aged 56. In Germany, where returnees Wiedereinsteigerin she was very welcome after a solid three months training. ‘I used to fly on two planes, now there are nine. Can you check what you need to learn in the field of emergency†
She flew five years later, with great pleasure, ‘I was so happy and appreciated at Lufthansa.’ Colleagues of 18, that went very well together. If the youngest still found it scary to direct people in business class to another seat, then she did. “With two fingers in my nose and a nice drink to make up for it.” Everyone happy.
But then corona came, everything came to a halt and after two years the commute from Rotterdam also became less attractive. Lufthansa offered a decent farewell arrangement, which she accepted, assuming she would be able to find work here again in no time.
Her first application was for a secretary position. Gerritdina received the unsolicited suggestion in the rejection that she would rather look for volunteer work.
She tried everything, including catering. There, she was told that after nearly 20 years as a flight attendant in first and business class, she had “too little experience.” “I thought that was insulting.”
Gerritdina has been applying for jobs at least once a week for eighteen months now. They always answer that other candidates ‘more match the profile’.
‘What do you actually say about yourself in a job interview?’ I ask, again looking for a reason. ‘It won’t get that far,’ says Gerritdina: ‘I’ve never been invited!’
She’d rather hear right away that she’s too old, at least that’s fair. ‘But yes: age discrimination.’ Gerritdina would like to know exactly how many of us are at home. The numbers are diffuse. ‘A lot of people my age have a partner with an income. They then think: never mind.’
Why don’t we oblige employers, says Gerritdina, to invite at least one candidate over the age of 50? Why don’t people learn to look wider in HR? ‘And they really don’t want anyone my age? Why isn’t the retirement age going down? Who pays my last piece?’
She still gets half a year of unemployment. Then comes assistance. And Gerritdina has to sell her apartment and look for a cheap rental house, which is not there.
All such a shame. Also for us.