Under dual pressure, from the unions and the employers, the Government again tweaked the terms and conditions of its stimulus package. Under the latest plan, companies will be able to claim stimulus money provided they don’t reduce their workforce in April and at least two more months after the stimulus expires – at this moment that would be in July. But the latest decision left a long list of loopholes that can be used to fire workers.

The initial version banned firing what-so-ever, but after the chambers of commerce objected to it as unrealistic, the Government allowed the companies to reduce their workforce by 5, 10 or 15 percent, depending on their size. This caused outrage from the unions, who used the symbolism of the May Day celebrations to push the Government into coming with the current middle ground proposal. But, the workforce can still be reduced if the worker resigns on his own, as well as in cases of violation of workplace discipline, a mutually agreed end of the work relationship and in a number of other instances. Chambers of commerce warned the Government that their members will simply refuse the stimulus money if the terms are too restrictive and if they are banned from firing workers they need to let go because of the reduced workload.

These changes reinforce and guarantee the policy of saving jobs at a time of the coronavirus economic crisis, secures the protection of workers’ rights and a dignified income, the Government said in a press release.

But the exceptions to the rule should be large enough for companies to fire workers and still claim the stimulus. The Government insists that the limits of 5, 10 and 15 percent will apply in these cases – large companies will be able to fire just 5 percent of their employees, mid-sized ones can fire 10 percent and small companies can fire up to 15 percent.