[ad_1]
Corona has hit, or nearly hit, the last nail in the tourism sector’s coffin, which has been suffering since 2011, including restaurants operating tens of thousands
Many employees lost their jobs in the restaurant industry, according to the Al-Akhbar newspaper. As for those who stayed in business, they receive half of their dues for months, and today they threaten to catch up with those who preceded them, as “steadfastness” for longer seems like a difficult possibility. Note that revenue for the entire tourism sector decreased by $ 10 billion in 2010 to $ 6 billion in 2018.
Statistics from the Union of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Cabarets and Pastry Shops indicate that for just 5 months (September 2019 – February 2020) 785 establishments working in the field of food and beverages closed, 240 of which were closed in january. And the number of employees spent on 25 thousand of 60 thousand of the content, in addition to them 25 thousand temporary workers.
In an interview with him through the news, union leader Tony Al-Ramy explains that “95% of the restaurant sector was closed due to Corona, and only 5% is still operational through the delivery service. But they also suffer from fear of the virus and the diminishing purchasing power of the Lebanese. ” And he confirms that the sector “has been operating for months without profit so that we can support and pay the wages that we can, since we buy raw materials from suppliers according to the exchange rate of the dollar in the market, and we adopt the rate exchange rate with clients. “
“Quitting any employee in the industry is not easy to work with precision in this area. Employees are our production partners and the primary link to pioneers, and our investment in each important employee lasts for years, ”says Rami. But “whatever our intentions are, our ability to solidify with employees cannot continue without the support of the state. Since October 17, we have been paying half a salary despite a massive drop in sales of nearly 75%. But what if it continues like this for another month or two? How can we continue without help? ”
“It’s nice and fun … but so far it has no benefit and it seems to be to raise the threshold.” Therefore, Al-Rami describes Circular 547 issued by the Bank of Lebanon, according to which banks “under their responsibility” grant extraordinary loans in pounds or US dollars with 0% interest for a period of 5 years for their customers who have failed to pay. One of the objectives of the circular is to use these loans to pay the salaries of employees and customers’ employees or to cover production or operational needs. “We ask the Bank of Lebanon to activate this circular and compel banks to implement it,” says Rami. But so far, no private institution has benefited from it, precisely because it clearly indicated that banks should be accountable. Here is the real problem: how can banks lend to institutions that are suspended from work, and it is not known when they will resume their activities and with what productivity? ». The problem with banks is not limited to that, since “interest on loans has not been reduced and is still very high, reaching 11%.” The solution is to “freeze all loans and interest backed and unsupported plus interest for one year after the end of the crisis, extend the contractual terms for tourist rental contracts, reduce rents by 50%, freeze contributions insurance, municipal and financial rates, electricity and water contributions, and install them for a year or exempt them. »Al-Rami points out that” we have drafted the demands in cooperation with the Minister of Tourism, who presented them to the government and we hope that the relevant ministries will translate them into bills. “As for the reopening date of the restaurants, the union” is in contact with the Ministry of Tourism, which is following the matter with the Ministry of Health and the Relevant committees in the Corona archive And this week we will present ideas to the ministry on the working mechanism in case of reopening of restaurants.
Source: News
[ad_2]
