Islamabad: In response to a relief package announced by the federal government to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) amid the lockdown imposed to slow down COVID-19’s local transmission, trade unions have requested the executive to waive off three months’ rent and utility bills for small businesses.
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The Economic Coordination Committee recently approved ‘Chota Karobar Imdadi Package’. The package is expected to benefit 3.5 million small business. To this effect, the government will collect their data in order to implement the relief measures promised.
All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran President Ajmal Baloch issued a statement yesterday (April 28), where he stated that the relief package will certainly provide relief to the labour class associated with small businesses, but it does not attend to the worries of business owners. He said that the biggest problems these owners face is the payment of monthly rent and utility bills in the absence of zero earnings.
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He urged the government to waive off rent and utility bills for three months to provide them relief. Baloch further requested the government to allow businesses to operate by making them follow the standard SOPs devised to contain the pandemic.
He warned that the economic situation of these people will worsen in a couple of weeks and in order to avoid that, the government should offer them interest-free loans.
