Eight out of 10 workers in Madrid at ERTE have already returned to their jobs

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The festival calendar of the Barceló Theater in Madrid has been empty since April.

The outbreak of the coronavirus brought to a halt the activity of the three-story venue, dance floor and VIP reserved, a benchmark of nightlife in the capital where, until the beginning of this year

most reputable

on the music scene

.

The old Pachá nightclub is one of the 71,405 companies in the region that during the pandemic have been forced to submit Temporary Employment Regulation Files (ERTE), around 18% of the total.

At the peak of the economic crisis derived from the water utility, up to

.

Like that of infections, the trend of this other curve has also been reversed and at this time eight out of 10 people who had to go home as a result of restrictive measures to stop the expansion of Covid-19

.

For at least six months the companies cannot fire them because they would have to return the exemptions from Social Security contributions that the central government has applied to them.

"There are still many thousands of workers in the Community of Madrid in a situation of ERTE, companies linked to tourism, leisure and restaurants that are still without activity, with limitations or restrictions", explains Manuel Giménez, Minister of Economy, Employment and Competitiveness .

"That is why it is so

, not until January or June, but until demand recovers that allows these sectors to return to a turnover that allows them to get ahead," he underlines in a direct request to the Ministry of Labor.

Of the 85,514 files counted since March - there are companies that have submitted more than one -, more than 80% correspond to work centers with up to 10 employees, which shows that the coronavirus crisis

.

In the case of those with more than 250 people on the staff, the incidence does not even reach 1%, with a total of 715 files as a whole.

By areas, in addition to the capital,

(Fuenlabrada, Leganés, Alcorcón, Móstoles and Getafe)

(Alcalá and Torrejón de Ardoz).

Although with less intensity, the consequences of the slowdown have also affected municipalities in the north, such as Alcobendas and San Sebastián de los Reyes, and to the northwest in Las Rozas.

Economic uncertainty

Until October 31, there were still 128,444 workers in the ERTE situation - 21% of the national total - of 23,904 companies in the region - 16% of those in Spain as a whole.

The Madrid Business Confederation recognizes that it is "very difficult" to predict when a scenario that is most similar to pre-Covid will be able to return and not even what the next Christmas campaign will be like, but meanwhile they underline

"Taking into account that there is epidemiological data that contagions are minimal in the workplace, which is in family and social settings where they occur, we are trying to keep the terraces and shops open, with all the capacity measures, hygiene, separation ... and

, but rather that we must leave home with caution, "says Luis Méndez, head of Labor Affairs at the employer's association.

As exemplified by this Ceim manager, "it is difficult to catch the coronavirus by buying a scarf" and warns that "if a business closes, reopen it is very complicated."

To which he adds: "The only thing we achieve by staying at home is to stop the economy completely and that the

have it more difficult to find work."

24,715 fewer affiliations

Only between March and October of this year the number of affiliates to Social Security in Madrid has fallen by 24,715, which has reduced the payroll of workers in the region by 3,202,275.

This figure includes the 128,444 who remain in ERTE, which

Although unlike in other communities, the Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso has not decreed the closure of bars and restaurants to contain the second wave of the coronavirus, the hotel industry, tourist accommodation and commerce are

, with special impact on nightlife due to its reduction to a minimum.

On the contrary, as Ceim points out, public administrations, telecommunications and dependency assistance are the sectors that have best weathered this crisis.

47 million in aid for hiring

So far in 2020, the Community of Madrid has invested more than 47 million euros in hiring incentives, which are expected to increase to close to 60 million by the end of the year.

The cornerstone of this aid package is the Madrid Employ Plan that the Ministry of Economy launched to try to alleviate the effects of Covid-19, with six lines of help to promote stable employment focused especially on vulnerable groups such as the young people and those over 50 years of age.

Among the new measures, the direct subsidy of 3,000 euros stands out for each reinstatement of full-time workers in ERTE.

Likewise, an endowment of another 2,000 euros is foreseen for the restoration of full-time working hours in the case of those who have suffered a reduction in hours.

This line of aid is endowed with 18.2 million euros and 3,035 requests have already been received from companies that are currently in the processing phase.

According to the Ministry of Economy, it is a program "expandable depending on the needs and requests that are being reviewed."

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