Social measures needed to support workers and self-employed

Moviment Graffitti has welcomed Prime Minister Robert Abela’s statement, that workers should not carry the burden of the Coronavirus crisis, and issued a set of proposals in relation to this.

“We believe that, together with the positive measures that the government is taking to ensure the health and safety of the people, a number of social measures should be implemented to support workers and those who have the least resources in society,” the NGO said.

Moviment Graffitti said that the worst hit by the decline in economic activity are workers on contracts which do not guarantee fixed hours of work and those self-employed persons who live from hand to mouth. “Many of these have ended up without any income, or with very low income. There should be a system in place where these persons will be temporarily eligible to receive unemployment benefits.”

Measure regarding loan repayments

The State, the NGO said, should introduce a measure wherein those who have bank loans (including home and business-related loans) would be allowed to postpone, for a few months, payments due to the bank.

An interest-free loans fund for companies

They also proposed the setting up of a government fund offering interest-free loans to private companies, especially so that these will be able to pay their employees.

“These funds should be paid back slowly to the government without interest, once the economy starts picking up again. While it is commendable for the government to help businesses during this difficult moment, it is not right that companies, which until a few days ago were making huge profits, expect the people to carry the burden as soon as their profits temporarily decline. It is not fair that their profits remain private, while their losses become shared by the public. Therefore, our proposal is for help by the government to take the form of an interest-free loan which will eventually be repaid.”

Moratorium on redundancies

Moviment Graffitti said that there should be a temporary moratorium on worker redundancies. “This is a time for solidarity, not a time for workers to be laid off after being used.”

Quarantine Leave

The NGO said that the government should put into force a special leave entitlement for workers who are constrained to live in quarantine (and who cannot work from home). “This special leave should also be applicable in the eventuality of a national lockdown. Half of this leave should be deducted from workers’ sick leave entitlement, while the other half should be special leave with pay, partly subsidised by the Government and partly paid by employers.”