Jean-Nath Karakash interferes in federal politics. The Minister of Economy of the canton of Neuchâtel sent an email to five advisers to the States of the Jura Arc, an email which the daily newspaper obtained 24 hours a day.
Sent late at night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the email attempts to convince senators not to prohibit the payment of dividends to companies that use technical unemployment. The subject is on the agenda of the Council of States this Wednesday afternoon.
The problem, according to Jean-Nath Karakash, is that no large company will choose to forgo dividends to obtain RHT. Management would prefer to lay off less qualified people on a large scale, even if it means rehiring them in a few months. The Neuchâtel Minister for the Economy also stresses in his email the importance of working time reduction measures to protect these “little hands”. They do not serve to protect companies in this context of health crisis.
Jean-Nath Karakash also recalls that since March, his department has been trying to save as many jobs as possible. For example, there are already 1,000 more jobseekers in the canton of Neuchâtelois than three months ago, for a total of 6,000 people.
2,500 workplaces eliminated
If the ban on the payment of dividends to companies that make use of technical unemployment is accepted by the Council of States, 2,500 jobs would be cut in the canton of Neuchâtel according to Jean-Nath Karakash. In the detail presented by the State Councilor, it would be 1,200 additional redundancies in watchmaking, up to 800 in international groups which have production units in the canton, and around 500 in sectors sales and construction.
Finally, Jean-Nath Karakash invites counselors to the states not to play “sorcerer’s apprentices”, and not to take the risk of “changing the rules of the game set out in the law to the detriment of businesses”.
The Council of States decides this Wednesday afternoon to ban or not the payment of dividends to companies that call for technical unemployment. / swe
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