In March 2020, the Dutch government defined a set of occupations that were designated as crucial for maintaining the basic functioning of society during the Covid-19 pandemic. A central question in the current public debate on work and pay is whether workers in crucial occupations have been sufficiently remunerated for their work over the past years. Using a combination of the Dutch labor force survey and register data during the period 2006-2019, we find that the wages of workers in crucial occupations have on average improved over time relative to the wages of workers in other occupations, although this development has stalled in recent years. At the same time, workers in crucial occupations earn less relative to comparable workers in other occupations within several industries, while they often earn more within major occupational groups. The analysis also reveals substantial heterogeneity in wage gaps and their trends across industries. We conclude by formulating some preliminary thoughts on the potential long-term consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the relationship between occupations and wages.