aseanbriefing.com (07.05.2020)

Suspension of monthly contributions to NSSF for enterprises in the garment and tourism sectors.

issblog.nl  (26.07.2020) Since March 2020, the Philippines has implemented one of the world’s strictest and longest lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused severe disruptions in peoples’ livelihoods. The government’s emergency social protection response, the ‘Social Amelioration Program’ (SAP), has also been notably massive, introducing one-off near-universal income protection. It is an insightful case given that the country’s existing social assistance system has been celebrated as a model for developing countries, even though it has been mostly bypassed in the emergency response. Moreover, the country’s highly stratified and fragmented social policy system has resulted in implementation delays and irregularities that have fostered social hostilities and undermined the potential for such momentary universalism to have lasting transformative effects.

United Nations ESCAP (25.06.2020) South Asia, a subregion with nearly a quarter of world’s population but over a third of world’s people living in extreme poverty and hunger, has been impacted severely given the vast proportion of population living at the margins, fragmented coverage of social protection, pervasive informality in economic activities and employment, and wide gaps in public health infrastructure.

Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion - European Commission(01.07.2020) 

The new Europass offers a range of online ‘e-Portfolio’ tools and information for people of all ages, at all stages of their lives, to manage their learning and career such as:

• a personal profile for people to record all their skills, qualifications and experiences
• tailored suggestions of jobs (via EURES) and courses for Europass users based on their interests and skills
• updated tools for creating CVs and cover letters
• information on learning and working in Europe

The coronavirus pandemic has instigated a work-from-home culture with many employees wanting to extend the experience.

However, the conditions imposed by the EU risk acting as a brake for cross-border workers in regions like Geneva, which borders with France, Swiss public radio (RTS) reports.

The reason is that beyond a certain threshold, different tax and social security rules apply if an employee is domiciled abroad. This has an impact on the estimated 330,000 cross-border workers employed at Swiss-based firms but who live in France, Italy, Germany or Austria.

The Federal Council (01.07.2020) On July 1, 2020, the Federal Council extended the maximum period for receiving short-time work compensation from twelve to eighteen months. There is also a grace period of one day. This amendment to the ordinance will come into force on September 1, 2020 and will apply until December 31, 2021.

Bloomberg (16.06.2020) France will consider proposals to protect gig workers after pandemic lockdowns pushed the status of people who rely on tech platforms for their income to the forefront. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has appointed a group of nine experts to suggest increased protection for platform workers, such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Deliveroo drivers, and others by October, according to a copy of the request made public by one of the members.

ilo.org (24.07.2020) Policies need to be put in place to protect stranded migrant workers and to ensure the reintegration of those who return to their home countries, says the International Labour Organization.

prensalibre.com (27.04.2020) Subsidio al consumo de energía eléctrica durante 3 meses (mayo, junio y julio), se cubrirán alrededor de 2 millones 839 mil usuarios que consumen menos de 300 kWh. (Q630 millones). Será aplicado en seis distribuidoras de energía (incluyendo tres empresas eléctricas municipales). Este fondo de apoyo es parte del paquete de ayuda aprobado por el gobierno y el Congreso para mitigar el impacto de la emergencia por el coronavirus en la economía familiar. Con el nuevo aporte, se cubrirán alrededor de 2 millones 838 mil 893 usuarios. Eso representa unos 987 mil 988 usuarios que forman parte del rango de consumo de 89 a 300 kilovatios hora al mes.

nenkin.go.jp (26.06.2020) Japan Pension Service (JPS) is planning to give job opportunities to students who had their job offers cancelled or lost their part-time job due to COVID-19. JPS is planning to hire about 100 such students temporarily (from the end of June to the end of next March) and the students are supposed to do data entry and document checking in the specialized centers.

Ministry of Social Security and Labour (11.06.2020) Child benefit is a universal benefit paid to each child. Its size in 2020 is 60 euros. An additional benefit of 40 euros may be paid for children with disabilities and children from low-income or large families. Until now, when estimating family income for higher child benefit, the amount received during the last 12 months has been taken into account. However, since the financial situation of some families deteriorated rapidly during the quarantine period, it has been decided that until the 1st of July the income received from the 1st of April will be assessed, and from July the income of the previous 3 months will be assessed and the child benefit will be granted for three months. Such facilitation will be valid for a further period of 6 months after the cancelation of the emergency situation and quarantine.

Ministry of Social Security and Labour (11.06.2020) Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the economic difficulties it has caused, the support granted in municipalities has been increased and the conditions for granting it have been facilitated, but most of the changes will be permanent. 

From the 1st of June the benefit is available if the average monthly income per person does not exceed 137.5 euros. The applicant's property will not be valued for 6 months after the cancellation of emergency situation and quarantine. Until now, the procedure was that if a person has property in excess of a certain threshold, he/she might not be entitled to the assistance.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (08.04.2020) The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has established an information and communication infrastructure centre (tentative name) in cooperation with the Cabinet Secretariat's IT Office. The system enables collecting information on hospital operation status, the situation of hospital beds and medical staff, the number of available medical equipment (ventilators, etc.) and medical materials (masks, protective clothing, etc.) from medical institutions nationwide (approximately 8,000 hospitals with 20 or more beds). The system will be used to inform the public about wide range of hospital operations and to coordinate medical materials supply and patients acceptance.

Policies need to be put in place to protect stranded migrant workers and to ensure the reintegration of those who return to their home countries, says the International Labour Organization.

World Economic Forum (25.06.2020) Money transfers are effective ways to protect those in financial difficulties due to COVID-19. In sub-Saharan Africa, over 80% of measures announced since the beginning of the pandemic are in the form of transfers. The pandemic has led many countries to strengthen their mobile money ecosystems and address specific constraints. But the risks of accelerating mobile money include cyber-risks and digital fraud.

Taiwan Today (18.05.2020) The Public Health Specialists Act, which provides for a national certification for public health professionals, passed the Legislature May 15 in Taipei City. This is the first time such a law has been enacted in Asia. According to the act, if a person who is a citizen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) passes the examination, he or she will be granted a certificate of "public health specialist". A "public health specialists" may work in a healthcare-related institution, a health care facility, a nursing home, a public health practitioner's office, or any other institution licensed by the competent authorities in his or her capacity.

Given the country’s economic and social development, the legislation will greatly enhance the ability of Taiwan’s public health system to manage challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.

The "Public Health Specialists Act" takes effect on the date of promulgation.

SERVIZZ.GOV (26.06.2020) From next week, the rest of the regional centers will be opened, so service.gov will have a total of 22 centers open throughout Malta. servicio.gov continues to offer assistance on government services through its various means, including Freephone 153, the one-stop-shop online www.servizz.gov.mt, the email address servicio@gov.mt and maltapps, which is the leading mobile app that hosts mobile services.

MINISTRY FOR HOME AFFAIRS, NATIONAL SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR CITIZENSHIP AND COMMUNITIES (24.06.2020) Online birth and death registration is now available through Identity Malta's website (https://identitymalta.com/services/). The public can register a newborn's birth or a person's death remotely by simply filling in an online registration form.

THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER (08.06.2020) A voucher of € 100 per person aged 16 and over that can be used in a licensed accommodation, restaurant or business that has closed.

THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER (08.06.2020) The Covid Wage Supplement will remain unchanged until September, where the benefit rate of € 800 for full-time and € 500 for part-timers in areas involved with tourist accommodation, travel agencies will be maintained. travel, language schools, organization of events and air transport. For the rest of the businesses that will remain on Annex A, they will start receiving € 600 and € 375 part-time, while there will be others that will move from Annex A to Annex B;

THE MINISTRY OF THE FAMILY, CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AND SOCIAL  SOLIDARITY（04.06.2020）The temporary payment of the Parental Benefit and the Additional Unemployment Benefit for the time being will continue to be made weekly, but will be stopped with effect from Friday, 3 July 2020, which payment will then cover the period from -27 June to 3 July 2020.

The temporary payment of the Disability and Medical Benefit will be suspended with effect from tomorrow, Friday, 5 June 2020, which payment being made today covers the period from 30 May to 5 June 2020.

Minister Michael Falzon claimed that the temporary benefits associated with Covid-19 were of great help to the thousands of people who in this difficult period needed financial support for one reason or another while helping them to stay in employment. He said he is now looking forward to these people gradually starting to return to work as he is sure they want.

ANSES (12.06.2020) Con un sistema de turnos programados y garantizando el protocolo sanitario, la ANSES reabrió al público más de 150 Unidades de Atención Integral (UDAI) y oficinas en todo el país. La ANSES irá, progresivamente, realizando la reapertura de sus oficinas teniendo en cuenta la situación sanitaria de cada provincia y localidad, en un trabajo coordinado con gobernadores e intendentes.

Governmen of Bermuda (25.06.2020) Bermuda will end the State of Emergency on June 30th. This will imply a relaxation of social distancing measures which include gatherings up to a maximum of 50 persons (with the possibility to request largers ones to the Minister of National Security); recreational scuba will be allowed and masks will continue to be worn indoors (and outdoors in case social distancing cannot be maintained). Resumption of commercial flights is yet to be implemented.

ssa.gov (01.06.2020) For members from certain occupational pension plans that are younger than age 65 (the normal retirement age) and who are not yet retired may request one-time withdrawals of up to B$12,000 (US$12,000) from their account balances. The deadline for requests is June 30, 2021, and pension plan administrators must process the withdrawals within 20 business days after approving a request. This measure is part of an economic relief package for persons affected by the COVID-19.