Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1224129
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 MARCH 2020 NEWS Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth Clean regularly and disinfect frequently touched items Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or with an alcohol-based hand rub Stop the spread of COVID-19 TOGETHER WE CAN STOP THE SPREAD! BE RESPONSIBLE, respect yourself and those around you! ACT RESPONSIBLY. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Coronavirus - New Advert Eng & Mlt - 2020 (2).pdf 1 18/03/2020 15:52:23 Malta's Great Depression employees will continue to re- ceive their monthly pay-cheque. "Hence the 47,610 employees in the public sector will not lose their jobs. However, some par- ents might decide to work on re- duced hours to take care of their children while at home. This will probably reduce their income from their full-time employ- ment." In his calculations, Prof. Falzon suggests that the accommoda- tion and food service sector will suffer a 90% redundancy; the wholesale and retail sector, 80%; the arts, entertainment and rec- reation, 80%; real estate activities, 60%; transport and storage, 30%; most sectors like construction, information and communica- tion, finance and insurance, pro- fessional, scientific and technical, administrative support services, education, and human health and social work will suffer only 10% redundancies. Manufactur- ing will have a 5% reduction and other services a 20% reduction rate. The basic services sector like agriculture and fisheries, quarry- ing, electricity and gas, and water supply, sewerage and waste man- agement, will all suffer no reduc- tion rates. "These probabilities of expected redundancies for each sector are subjective... constituted bodies and unions have their own esti- mates of any possible unemploy- ment rates in each sector of the Maltese economy. These expect- ed rates of redundancies can be continuously monitored and up- dated as the coronavirus effects will become more serious over time." Prof. Falzon says Malta can only stave off the lay-offs by planning in the same way the United States had done during the Great De- pression. "Constituted bodies and the un- ions in Malta are asking the gov- ernment to intervene in this time of unexpected crisis. The Great Depression in America in the 1930s taught us that only massive monetary and fiscal stimulus can help to recover slowly the econ- omy to its former levels of eco- nomic activity. "The ECB has already inter- vened with a massive injection of billions of euro to keep the banking sector liquid and afloat and avoid another banking crisis like we had in 2008. The gov- ernments in the EU also need to put massive injections of fiscal measures to directly help all the sectors which will be heavily im- pacted by this coronavirus." Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs predicted massive second GDP quarter decline of 24% in the USA, with a 12% increase in the third quarter. In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he will pay 80% of wages for retained workers for up to £2,500 a month. "This is a time of national crisis where all sectors need to come together to help each other in the spirit of national solidarity. The government, constituted bodies and the unions, need to come together and find a nation- al solution to prevent the massive expected layoffs that will happen soon in several sectors of the economy. The commercial banks also need to offer liquidity meas- ures, with very low interest rates, to all businesses in difficulty. And hopefully, the general public will fully cooperate with the health authorities to contain the virus from spreading much further." "The commercial banks also need to offer liquidity measures, with very low interest rates, to all businesses in difficulty"