The country's peak business body has joined the trade union movement, Labor and the Greens in backing an 80 per cent wage subsidy for workers whose jobs are at risk because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The subsidy proposed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is modelled on a similar scheme introduced in the United Kingdom.
Pubs have been forced to close and cafes and restaurants are take-away only, prompting businesses to stand down thousands of staff.Credit:Edwina Pickles
It would apply to all full and part-time workers from businesses of any size along with sole traders. Workers would receive a payment of 80 per cent of their current wages, capped at average weekly earnings, currently about $1660 for an adult working full-time and $670 part-time. Casuals would not be eligible.
The chamber's plan aims to keep workers in their jobs rather than the welfare system amid hundreds of thousands of stand-downs and redundancies across the country.
"Subsiding the wages of affected workers would be a sensible way to retain critically important employment relationships and ensure businesses are service-ready to recommence trading after this challenging health and economic crisis," ACCI chief executive James Pearson said.
In a letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison seen by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Mr Pearson also urged the government to give temporarily shuttered businesses a rent "holiday" to ensure they do not go broke.
Businesses would be able to claim a refund of their rental expenses through the tax system until June 2021 under the ACCI proposal if they have been forced to close after being affected by government trading restrictions. That guarantee would allow them to borrow enough to cover the rent through their bank.
Employees would be eligible for the 80 per cent wage subsidy, paid through their employer, under a scheme ACCI calls "Jobs@Risk" if they have already been stood down or are still working to maintain the business' assets.
The Morrison government has resisted previous calls for a wage subsidy, with the Prime Minister arguing it would be technically difficult to implement and slower than the welfare and tax systems.
Retailers and other businesses have complained that landlords have offered too little flexibility on their rental payments even as revenue has plummeted in empty malls.
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