Mireille * is a speech therapist in a French-speaking locality. She works in two cantons. She is one of 270,000 freelancers (out of 330,000) who have so far fallen between the cracks of the lifeline launched by the Federal Council. The exercise of his profession has not been prohibited by the Confederation, any more than occupational therapy, osteopathy, physiotherapy and other trades such as taxi drivers. The Confederation did not require her to stop practicing, but one of the cantons ordered her to close her practice and the other told her that she could only deal with urgent cases.
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As a result, she can no longer take care of the children who come to see her to resolve their problems with oral or written language. At most, it is compensated by one of the cantons for the equivalent of two and a half hours of care per child. In practice, however, he is prevented from working, but since speech therapy and speech therapy, which is not regulated in a similar way in all cantons, is not included in the Federal Council order of 16 March, which lists the activities prohibited for health reasons, she does not have access to loss of earnings allowances (APG).
“Up to 90% less income”
Perhaps she sees a glow at the end of the coronavirus tunnel. The head of the Department of the economy, Guy Parmelin, announced Wednesday that his services, in collaboration with the departments of finance and the interior, will seek a solution for these “independents whose activity has not been prohibited who suffer loss of income of up to 90% ”. It recognizes the need to “avoid cases of hardship” but wants to “clearly delimit the circle of beneficiaries”, define the method of compensation and see to what extent the cantonal compensation funds, which are responsible for paying AVS pensions and AI can do this job, he said.
This is one of the new measures announced by the Federal Council on Wednesday. The additional cost borne by the APG is not yet quantified. It will be added to the 4 billion planned for the self-employed deprived of professional activity. The Federal Council also plans to re-examine the support granted to actors in the travel sector by April 15 and to see, by May 8, whether the resources allocated to sport and culture should be increased.
Petition for a “Wahlen messenger”
The Federal Council is also looking for a solution for start-ups and has taken a series of decisions for agriculture. He granted an additional credit of 3 million to finance storage campaigns for meat, the production of which dropped sharply following the closure of restaurants, mainly veal, goat and noble cuts of beef. The tariff quota for eggs will be increased to meet the increased demand. Certain provisions governing the importation of food products will be relaxed so as not to run the slightest risk of shortage if supply difficulties arise.
On the other hand, the Federal Council remains deaf to the appeal launched by the producers of seeds and seed pieces. In petition signed by nearly 25,000 people, they ask that these products be authorized for sale. Led by Neuchâtel Green MP Laurent Debrot, they want their contribution to supplying the country to be recognized, since the seedlings allow anyone with a piece of land to grow fruits or vegetables. A kind of wahlen map with coronavirus, or “Wahlen planton”. Guy Parmelin replies that the sale of these products has been prohibited because of the sanitary distance rules to be observed. But he says he is ready to reassess the situation if necessary.
Half of the 20 billion already released
The most important decision will be announced on Friday. The Federal Council should increase the volume of guarantees provided to solve the liquidity problems of SMEs. Of the 20 billion made available in the form of guarantees, 10.6 billion were released between March 26 and 31. One hundred and nineteen banks granted 53,750 loans for an average sum of 198,000 francs.
Also read: Emergency aid repayable for SMEs
It quickly became clear that this envelope would not be enough. We expect an addition of several billion francs. But not at a loss, “it would be dangerous for the stability of federal finances and the economic center,” warns Guy Parmelin. As for the use of short-time working, 86,190 companies have used it for more than one million employees, which represents 19.6% of the workforce in Switzerland.
* Borrowed name
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