Working time

Polish medical workers have been in conflict with the government for years, beginning in 2017 when a residents' hunger strike forced the government to make concessions. But the promises have not been kept, these frontline staff argue, pushing them back onto the streets. Photo: BIRN.

Labour mobility within the EU should be made easier for workers as well as for employers, with clearer rules to ensure fair, equality-based working conditions. This is the aim of a report drafted by European People's Party MEP Radan Kanev and his team before the start of the corona-crisis, a report that has acquired particular importance in light of the restrictions connected with the pandemic.

Ljubljana – During the Covid-19 epidemic, companies received various forms of state aid. Some were not so badly affected and will now have to repay the received subsidies. According to an estimate by the Slovenian Financial Administration (FURS), this amounts to just under EUR 90 million, just over 4% of the total amount paid out.

What is planned for employees

Ljubljana – Finance says on Monday that true picture of the economy will soon show as subsidised furlough and monthly universal basic income expire at the end of June being probably one of the two key state measures to fight the consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic. There are some concerns, which is understandable, it adds.

President of the Competition Council Bogdan Chiritoiu considers that the Romanian economy has performed surprisingly well in the pandemic and there has been an excellent ability to adapt on the part of the private sector. "2020 was clearly a different year. It is remarkable that sectors of the private economy have adapted very well.

According to a YouGov survey among remote workers in the United States, the lack of a commute is the most obvious benefit of working from home

U.S. Government offices in Greece will be closed on Monday

Ljubljana – The government decided on Wednesday to extend the furlough scheme by another month, until the end of June, in a bid to reduce the risk that companies facing slow demand or a negative productivity shock start laying off workers.

Bulgaria had the lowest percentage in the European Union of people working from home in 2020, at 1.2 per cent compared with an EU average of 12.3 per cent in the 15-64 age group, the bloc's statistics agency Eurostat said on May 17.

The social distancing measures that were introduced as a response to the Covd-19 pandemic forced many people to work from home, Eurostat said.