Spain has already imposed since March 15 one of the most severe confinements on the planet. On the other side of the Pyrenees, it is impossible, for example, to justify leaving the home by running or walking with the children. But this week, the government gave a further serious blow. Since Monday and until Easter Sunday, April 12, only employees of activities deemed essential are allowed to go to their work station.
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In addition to the nursing staff and the police, the whole food chain - from the farmer to the cashier at the supermarket - the pharmaceutical industry, the manufacturing of sanitary products and that of clothing turn the machines. In addition, the most requested administrations, such as the equivalent of Pôle Emploi, or those which fight against violence against women, a national priority for more than fifteen years.
These employees stop working but continue to be paid. However, they must return the non-working hours to their employerFor everyone else, you must now stay at home. Some have been on partial unemployment for fifteen days and receive 70% of their income, entirely supported by the State: at least 300,000 companies, representing 1.6 million people, have implemented these "temporary social plans". Those who have switched to telework can continue to exercise from home.
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As for employees who were not affected by any of these measures, they are placed by decree on “recoverable paid leave”. These employees stop working but continue to be paid. However, they will have to return the non-working hours to their employer. When returning to work, employers and unions will negotiate unpaid overtime in each company. Two days of the Holy Week being public holidays in Spain, it will be a question of making eight working days by December 31, 2020.
"Everything changes from one day to the next"
The right-wing opposition, which nevertheless demanded drastic measures in the face of the pandemic, and most of the employers' organizations criticized the government of Pedro Sanchez for improvising the national response. On the ground, the gestorias , the consultancy firms which carry out some of the tasks which accountants in France are responsible for, answer the doubts of SMEs or disoriented freelancers.
For the past three days, the number of new daily deaths seems to have stabilized around just over 800"Sanchez goes out on television to explain a measurement and the phone rings immediately," illustrates Marta Sen, of the Sen Asesores firm based in Segovia. The problem is that everything changes from one day to the next. Sunday, the decree was published at midnight. We had drawn some conclusions to respond to our customers Monday morning. But on Monday evening, the government released an explanatory note that had nothing to do with what had seemed established until then. ”
One of the sectors most affected by the latest measures is the construction industry. Last week, we could still see or hear the workers working on the scaffolding. This Monday, 1.7 million workers put the trowel away. "90% of the sites continued to operate, even in slow motion, recognized on Tuesday Julian Nunez, the president of the employers' organization Seopan, on public television TVE. We are the second most labor intensive sector behind agriculture. ”
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The spokesperson for the National Center for Health Emergencies, Maria Jose Sierra, observed on Tuesday that with regard to contagions, "a general trend has continued since March 25" : the rate of progression has increased from 20 to 12 %. For three days, the number of new daily deaths seems to have stabilized around a little more than 800. Spain seeks to strike the final blow to lower the curve.