WILLEMSTAD - The Foundation for Supervisory Standards for Government Entities (SBTNO) has advised the Pisas II government to reject Curoil’s request to raise the salaries of its CEO and five department heads to the maximum allowed by the National Ordinance on Top Income Standards (LNT).
The LNT sets the maximum salary for large government-owned companies like Curoil at 386,000 guilders per year. This limit can, in specific cases, be increased to 501,000 guilders, a cap set at 130 percent of the base maximum. However, SBTNO argues that increasing this maximum without a comprehensive labor market analysis would violate the law.
On September 30, Curoil CEO Yamil Lasten submitted the salary increase request for himself and five other senior executives, including heads of finance, operations, commercial, strategy, and human resources. Lasten contends that these roles are vital to Curoil's sustainability in the challenging market it faces.
SBTNO, however, cautions that approving this request could trigger similar applications from other executives in government-owned companies, who might argue for raises on the grounds of equal treatment.
In a letter to Minister Charles Cooper (MFK), the interim Minister for Economic Development (MEO), SBTNO also emphasized that department heads should not be equated with the CEO role. SBTNO questions whether all department heads at Curoil truly warrant an exception to the LNT rules, particularly highlighting the HR director’s position. The foundation is requesting further justification for why this role, in particular, should be eligible for a salary above the LNT maximum.