WILLEMSTAD - The Chamber of Commerce recently conducted a survey aimed at understanding the need for other management and survival measures for companies that were not eligible for the aid schemes. 520 companies participated in the survey. A total of 4,503 workers are employed by that group. Of this, 53.7%, or 2,420 employees, are in the acute danger zone, as these companies have not been able to generate turnover and have not been eligible for the aid schemes. On the other hand, more than 19,000 employees were able to retain an income for April through the NOW scheme, whereby the employer contributes 20% of the gross wage bill, plus employer's costs. Given the insufficient funds, it is urged not to allow the lock-down to last longer than is urgently needed and to introduce a working time reduction scheme.
Of the 520 business owners or companies who responded, it appears that 28.6% of the respondents provide business services (including real estate services), 21% are active in the tourism sector (this includes travel services and food industry), 17.3% is active in trade (including retail), 7.7% provides Financial services (including insurance services), 6.5% provides computer & information services, 6.3% engage in construction activities and 6.2% are in Industry (including maintenance). The rest, namely 6.4%, is distributed under Agriculture, Transport, and Sports & Recreation.
Approximately 52.5% (272 companies) have indicated that they have submitted an application to be eligible for a wage subsidy under the NOW Support Package.
92% of companies with a turnover decrease of more than 25% in April 2020. Compared to April 2019, the month of April 2020 shows the following picture: 61% of the companies indicate that they have not realized any revenue, while 19.1% a decrease of more than 50 % registered, 11.9% saw their sales fall by between 25 and 50%, while sales remained the same or increased in 8% of companies.
2,420 workers in acute danger zone. The companies that participated in this survey employ a total of 4,503 workers. Of these, 53.7%, namely 2,420 workers, are in the acute danger zone, as these companies have been unable to generate any turnover.
In total, 1,408 employees work for companies with a turnover decrease of more than 25% (excluding those with 100% drop).
As mentioned earlier, 2,420 workers in the acute danger zone work at the respondent companies. No soon opening of the economy means that the companies will not be able to sustain this situation for long. If no reserves had been built up (in view of the years of recession), this means that, if the lock-down situation continue, these will eventually have to close their doors. Of course, there will also be companies that must close their doors permanently and that the employees have lost their jobs.
The conclusion is, it is therefore imperative that companies in an extremely difficult situation should have more opportunities to get through the difficult situation; shortening working hours can be of vital importance in this.
