The social partners, certain economic associations and the cantons participated on Thursday in the round table convened in Bern by the Minister for the Economy Guy Parmelin. The repercussions of the coronavirus on the Swiss economy were at the heart of the discussions.
No measures have been decided, said the federal press adviser after the meeting. The first step was to take stock of the situation and the “very constructive” exercise will be repeated every month in the coming times.
The problems posed by the coronavirus are very different according to the sectors and the authorities will receive them separately. But a consensus emerged between the participants of the round table on the desire to get out of the crisis together and preserve jobs, welcomed Guy Parmelin. The healthy economy has recovered from all previous crises, he said.
No taboo
For the coronavirus, “no measure is taboo”. No one can say how the crisis will assess, officials are working on short, medium and long term solutions.
Companies can already use the partial unemployment instrument which has proven its worth in the past. Its duration could be extended from 12 to 18 months. But according to Minister UDC, it is still too early to think about it.
According to him, the idea of a business plan was described by most participants as “not the best course of action”. The federal adviser was also skeptical about the chances of setting up a compensation fund mentioned by some parliamentarians.
Pay wages
Questioned on the sidelines of the meeting, the president of the Swiss Trade Union Pierre-Yves Maillard believes that wages must first be guaranteed. If employers fail, the state must find ways to do so.
The USS offers several options: allow rapid and non-bureaucratic authorizations for short-time working, reduce the waiting period to one day, widen the circle of beneficiaries to atypical contracts for example or give guarantees so that companies can obtain loans banking. The National Bank should also be proactive against the overvaluation of the franc. (Ps / nxp)
Created: 05.03.2020, 6:04 p.m.
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