Relief for laid-off staff

The Finance Ministry will propose a new relief package including partial salary pay-outs intended to help those who are bearing the brunt of the Covid-19 outbreak, said deputy secretary-general for the prime minister Kobsak Pootrakool yesterday.

The measures will be tabled before the cabinet at its weekly meeting tomorrow.

A source at Government House said the Finance Ministry is considering relief measures for employees who are now jobless due to the government’s order to close public places until April 12.

These measures are in addition to the financial assistance provided by the Social Security Board (SSB), said the source.

Under the proposal, employees registered in the state’s social security database who have either lost their jobs or are temporarily suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic will be given 50% of their salaries, capped at 15,000 baht a month.

“We have to face the fact that there are workers out there who are not covered by the social security programme,” the source said.

“They don’t get paid when the shops they work for are closed, so the government needs to reach out to them,” he added.

The government also is considering the possibility of handing out cash gifts, but the amount is unlikely to be as generous as those being offered to furloughed workers in the United Kingdom.

However, the source said the cash gifts will have to be considered thoroughly because a previous proposal for a 2,000-baht handout was met with criticism in some quarters.

Another possibility is to provide soft loans with a generous repayment scheme to employees who have lost their jobs or been suspended, said the source.

Once passed, employers will be able to obtain loans of between 10,000-20,000 baht with an annual interest rate of 0.1% and a six-month grace period, the source said, adding that between 40-50 billion baht would be earmarked for this scheme as another way to help those in need.

“If approved, it will be the second set of measures designed to assist those hard-hit by the outbreak. If this second wave of relief isn’t enough, there will be more,” Mr Korbsak said.

The government also is looking at measures to help struggling households, which includes a proposal from the Energy Ministry to refund electricity meter deposits to 21 million households and temporarily decrease electricity charges.

The government is also adopting other relief measures, such as extending the income-tax return deadline to June and approving additional tax deductions.

The government will also make it easier for owners of publicly-listed firms to buy their own shares, which can help buoy their value.