site.btaGovernment's Draft Document on Coronavirus Bailouts to Companies to Be Ready on Sunday

March 28 (BTA) - An updated version of the government
draft decree on compensating employers who have suspended
operation due to the state of emergency declared on March 13 was
 backed by the trade unions and the employer organizations,
except the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) and
the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria
(CEIBG), Deputy Prime Minister Mariyana Nikolova said on
Saturday. She chairs the National Council for Tripartite
Cooperation.

The final version of the document will be prepared by Sunday
noon and the Labour and Social Policy Minister will put it up
for adoption by the government on Monday.

Nikolova added that the tripartite council decided that the
reference point for the contributory income would be its amount
for the same month of 2019 as suggested by the Podkrepa
Confederation of Labour.

The Bulgarian Industrial Association welcomed the wider scope of
 economic activities qualifying for compensation, but asked for
a more specific provision on the reference month for the
contributory income. The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry backed the draft document, asking that the need of
further steps be assessed after the first month of implementing
the measures. The Union for Private Economic Enterprise expects
the decree to specify the documents required to prove a
company's drop in revenues, said Nikolova.

Of the two employer organizations that did not back the draft
decree, BICA called for immediate revisions to the Act on
Measures and Actions during the State of Emergency and asked for
 a public register of the employers who will be paid
compensation, while CEIBG expressed partial support for the
document and backed  BICA's demand for legislative amendments,
said Nikolova.

The employers and the trade unions stressed the need of
continued dialogue between the government and the social
partners on the long-term economic measures not covered by the
decree. RY/DD
  

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