The employers’ organizations make an urgent appeal to their supporters to follow the corona rules. And do they see abuses in their environment? Then have them report it.
“Pull out all the stops to avoid a second wave and lockdown!” VNO-NCW chairman Ingrid Thijssen and MKB-Nederland chairman Jacco Vonhof make this appeal in a letter to all members, as well as to the relevant ministers and the Association of Dutch Municipalities and the IPO (provinces) for notification. Speak to others if they do not adhere to the rules of conduct, say Thijssen and Vonhof in the letter.
The business organizations are concerned about the increasing number of Covid-19 infections. “If this continues, healthcare will again be overburdened and the cabinet will have no choice but to take new measures. This weekend has already been discussed. A second lockdown is imminent, with draconian consequences for entrepreneurs, employees and the economy. If our behavior doesn’t change, it will be incredibly difficult to prevent that, ”said the two organizations in the letter.
Because they feel that the attention to the rules is weakening, they call on everyone to strictly observe the protocols. And companies can play an important role in influencing the behavior of the Dutch, they believe. After all, companies, shops, construction sites and factories are places where many people meet.
Work from home wherever possible
That’s why they say to the supporters: make sure that employees with complaints really stay at home. And also: wherever possible, work at home. Keep employees, customers and visitors five feet away. And keep or make the hygiene measures clearly visible: such as marking on the floor, cough screens at the checkout or counter.
It went fast. In the middle of summer there was still silent musings about letting go of the rules. How nice would it be for the hospitality and cultural sector if they no longer had to pay attention to a meter and a half away? But offices would then also be freed from walking lines, the employees could work side by side again instead of just behind a computer at home.
Everything is different now. For fear of a lockdown, the employers’ organizations are making ‘an urgent appeal’ not only to have or keep things in order themselves, but also to contact local administrators and / or the safety regions if they see abuses in their vicinity. company. The shutdown of the country already caused the economy to contract by more than 8 percent in the second quarter. The CPB’s forecast for 2021 is a growth of 3.5 percent, but there should be no second lockdown.
Keeping society going by testing
The employers’ organizations say there is great concern among their members about the long waiting times at the GGDs. They fear capacity problems if not much more effort is put into testing, especially now that the number of common cold complaints is increasing and more and more people are forced to go into home quarantine as a precaution. VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland want a great haste with testing. “This allows us to detect many more corona infections and keep society open.”
Because that is the most important: society must continue to run, the entrepreneur must dare to invest again and the consumer must continue to spend. Thijssen and Vonhof warn: “The costs of testing are nothing compared to the billions of damage that society will incur if we are unable to stop the number of infections.”
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