Minister of Labour Dan Kersch replied to this demand by explaining that employers can of course pay the 20% of salaries of short-time workers not covered by the state. As a reminder, the government introduced the short-time working scheme ("Chomage partiel") to protect jobs in companies encountering difficulties due to coronavirus. The state covers 80% of a short-time worker's salary.
The head of construction firm Stugalux told RTL last Thursday that he found it unfair that employees on sick leave receive 100% of their salary while short-time workers only receive 80%. He argued that the two categories should be treated equally. Dan Kersch did not agree with this argument.
If the head of the company wants more justice, he "can compensate the missing difference with his own money," Kersch said. The minister added that the short-time working scheme was already an exceptional measure and underlined that no employee would make less than the minimum wage.
The construction company also demanded smaller construction sites to reopen. Dan Kersch refused this request and reiterated that all decisions are taken by the government as a whole. The key priority remains saving lives rather than making money, the minister argued.
