THE PLANS ARE OVER, AS IS THE MONEY

 Filenews 21 August 2020 -Theano Thiopoulou

Covid has emptied the public coffers and the impending end of plans to support thousands of workers and businesses hit hard by the health crisis is causing political concern.

So far, the state has put its hand deep in its pocket, with €1.2 billion in debt. to support workers and businesses, but the point is that state support cannot continue, at least not for everyone.

Expectations that the health crisis would subside in the summer months were contradicted. Based on this scenario, hopes had been raised that hotels for the months of July and August would have some degree of satisfactory occupancy. The question is what will happen from now on and what is the plan B to follow.

From time to time, various concerns have been expressed about the dimensions that unemployment can take after October and the completion of the ministry's plans to support business and employment.

Any decisions on what lies ahead should be taken after Finance Minister Konstantinos Petridis' meeting with Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou where the situation will be reviewed. On the positive side, consumption is doing well and on the negatives that the state's budgetary strength has run out and does not allow for any more support. The messages coming out of the Treasury are that the fund is under pressure and if support measures continue on a large scale, the country will go bankrupt. A meeting of the two relevant ministers has not yet been set up. It is the finance minister who can give the money and the minister of labour to allocate it by defining the policy. On the basis of the data for the first half of the year, a deficit of more than €800 million was reduced to €800 million. state budgets by overturning the budgetary picture that existed before March and before. The budgetary deterioration comes at a time when three employee and business support projects and a plan for the unemployed are coming to an end.

In particular, on 31 August the specific project of economic activities linked to the tourism industry was terminated. This plan covers part of the salary of workers in companies linked to the tourism sector who have losses of more than 35% of their turnover by 31 August.

Specific plan for enterprises of certain economic activities. This plan covers thousands of businesses in dozens of sectors of the economy, as long as they have lost at least 35% of their turnover. It covers part of the employee's salary.

Specific plan for the complete suspension of business operations, covering those undertakings which are fully suspended on the basis of decrees and government decisions. Again, the coverage is until the end of August. A specific support scheme for the unemployed, in addition to the normal six-month coverage offered to those who have expired their normal coverage until June 2020.

The fifth plan concerning hotels and employees is valid until 12 October. After that date, employees whose hotel units will be suspended due to the winter season will be included in the existing unemployment plan covered by the Social Insurance Fund over time.