pandemic
Omicron wave: Many employees in the trades are absent
Orphaned helmet on a construction site in Stuttgart. Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The omicron variant of the corona virus has consequences for the trade: many employees are absent. The overall business situation has again become more difficult.
The omicron wave left clear traces in the craft.
Craft President Hans Peter Wollseifer told the German Press Agency in Berlin: “There have been massive quarantine and illness-related absences from employees in our craft businesses and sales and order backlogs have fallen again in significantly more companies than in summer and autumn.”
Therefore, affected companies are “absolutely” dependent on support programs from the federal government beyond the first quarter. The bridging aid as the federal government’s core instrument to support companies expires at the end of March. However, there are indications of an extension until the end of June.
Almost every second company is affected by staff shortages, according to Wollseifer, referring to a survey of companies by the Central Association of German Crafts. Compared to the previous survey in August 2021, this means more than three times as much. On average, a quarter of the employees are missing in the companies affected by corona-related staff shortages. “It goes without saying that when so many employees are unable to show up for work, it severely affects business operations and also entails a loss of sales.”
The mood in the trades, which was still quite optimistic last autumn, has clouded over noticeably with the omicron wave. According to the survey, it is foreseeable that the first quarter will be characterized by economic setbacks. Accordingly, there are high proportions of companies with a drop in sales, especially among personal service providers in the trades such as hairdressers and beauticians, but also in the automotive, food and health trades.
«Omikron, delivery bottlenecks and shortage of skilled workers»
Wollseifer: “Omikron, delivery bottlenecks and shortage of skilled workers: Each of these problems would be a massive challenge for our companies, currently they are confronted with all of them at the same time.” In order to be able to retain employees as much as possible, more affected companies are again using instruments such as the reduction of working time accounts or short-time work to cushion the business slumps caused by the corona. Wollseifer called for a step-by-step plan from the federal-state consultations in the coming week, which would use nationwide uniform criteria to define clear opening steps.
The President of the Trades also spoke out in favor of improvements to the repayment of Corona emergency aid from spring 2020, which was issued shortly after the outbreak of the pandemic. In mid-January, the federal government decided that the states could give companies longer to make repayments.
Wollseifer said that nationwide installment payments should be made possible for the repayment of emergency aid. After two years of the pandemic, the reserves in the handicraft areas that were particularly affected have been used up in many cases. “Here it can decide whether a company exists or whether the aid can be repaid in installments.”
According to the survey, almost half of the recipients of the emergency aid reported that they had to or still have to make a full or partial repayment of the aid money. In many cases, payment in installments is not possible.