Both sides of industry in the ACT have welcomed the possibility of a wage subsidy to employers who keep workers on their books.
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The federal government has stone-walled the idea so far but a change of stance is now expected.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated that the details were being discussed.
"Treasury is meeting as we speak, they met yesterday and the day before that and the day before that," he told reporters.
"These are not simple things to do when you're talking about rolling out programs of income of support to millions of people," he said.
"But the principle, I can say, is that the package would support those who have more recently been the victims of these closures that have taken place and we will be seeking to support people involved in those closures."
Canberra Business Chamber said that such a payment would help companies keep staff so they could emerge more easily whenever the current crisis ends.
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And Unions ACT said they were being contacted by hundreds of workers who either fear for their jobs or have lost them already.
"We've got a very high level of concern so a wages subsidy would be very welcome," Alex White, leader of the union organisation in the ACT, said.
He said the problem with the ACT and federal government stimuli so far was that they did not make it a condition that companies which received money should keep workers on.
Unions want any wage subsidy to be back-dated so those who have lost their jobs could be re-employed. They also want contract workers and those on visas to be included.
The ACT Business Chamber also called for the ACT government to give businesses rate relief.
"Increasingly, we are hearing from landlords that tenants are seeking relief from rent in order to keep operating," Graham Catt, chief executive of Canberra Business Chamber said.
"We know that many property owners would like to assist further. However, their ability to offer rent relief to tenants will depend on having a further waiver of commercial rates."
- For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
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