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[Tokio, 22 de Reuters]- The number of restaurants that are closed due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection is running out and financial resources for employment adjustment subsidies are running out. Since the beginning of the crown disease, the amount paid so far has been 2.6 trillion yen, including the increased special measures. Spending is expected to increase further due to the reissue of the state of emergency, which far exceeds the national assumption. The business community, which has been responsible for the financial resources, has said that it must be paid with the general account because it cannot bear any more, but the government cannot afford it and is in a state of lockdown in all directions.
The employment adjustment allowance is a system to prevent the number of unemployed from increasing when employment deteriorates due to the recession. The financial source is the employment insurance premium borne by the commercial operator to protect the employment of the employees. It is financed and administered in the government’s special account for labor insurance, the “Employment Stabilization Fund.” If there is a shortage, the government will also invest financial funds.
“The economic resources for the work adjustment subsidies have already been exhausted,” said a head of the Occupational Safety Division of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. “We collect the bills here and there to make up for the shortage,” he said, revealing that he was struggling to respond because the number of applications for subsidies increased more than expected.
The total amount of profit since the start of the Koroka disaster in the first half of last year reached 2.6 trillion yen in January this year. Before Corona, the employment stabilization fund, which is a financial resource, accumulated at 1.5 trillion yen, and thereafter, the initial budget for fiscal 2008 was approximately 3.5 trillion yen. as a benefit amount. However, due to the crown disaster, it turned into an unexpectedly huge profit and the 1.5 trillion yen funds have been depleted. In addition to the insurance premium income contributed by the company this year, it will also invest financial funds.
However, 2.6 trillion yen includes the additional payment due to special measures. The government has raised the maximum amount for companies affected by Corona to 15,000 yen, which is less than double the normal amount, and also targets part-time workers, such as part-time workers. This part decided by the government is covered by finances. The second amendment in June last year invested 1.6 trillion yen, and the third amendment currently being deliberated in the Diet included 1.4 trillion yen.
The government is preparing for the long term with a series of budgetary measures, but cries have begun to be heard from the business community, which is fully funded by employment insurance. While agreeing to avoid deteriorating employment, he complains that a further increase in insurance premiums is unbearable in today’s business environment.
Specifically, regarding the leave of absence required by the state of emergency decided by the government, not only the increase is requested due to special measures but also the original benefit in charge of the general national financial resources. It also says that increasing insurance premiums should be avoided to rebuild exhausted employment adjustment subsidies.
The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) pointed out that “in this case, it is positioned as a countermeasure against infection rather than one against unemployment. Furthermore, it has been longer than initially expected and the end is not in sight” (Headquarters of Labor Policy). He insists that a new mechanism should be put in place to make the jump to general financial resources. The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry also said: “There is a new burden on companies, such as raising the minimum wage, paying for child rearing and equal pay for the same work. they are getting one after another “(Industrial Policy Part 2) It is said.
On the other hand, the government cannot afford it. In the midst of difficult financial conditions, the government is spending the difference between usual benefits and augmentation measures, so the company is only asking for a burden. “We have not discussed financial resources in particular. As the ruin of the crown continues, we will continue to have the basic benefits as before,” said the Office of Employment Security of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Izumi Nakagawa Edited by Nobuhiro Kubo
