WILLEMSTAD - The Minister of Economic Development Giselle McWilliam has announced that the vast majority of companies that have applied for aid under the NOW agreement have actually received aid.
The first applications for salary compensation were submitted four weeks ago. Applications for the month of May can probably be made at the end of the month.
It is important that companies understand the logic of the arrangement. It concerns aid for the part of the turnover of a company that is lost. For the part of the turnover that is still left, the company does not need any aid. For the part of the turnover that is no longer there, the company is reimbursed a large part of one of the most important cost items, the wage bill. In addition, many companies still receive support by deferring payment of repayment and interest to the bank, and their wage costs have already been reduced, for example because temporary employees are no longer employed. Companies with a turnover of up to ANG 5 million can also apply for SME credit via www.fondodisosten.org.
If employees are confronted with changes in their working conditions that are not permitted under the arrangement, they can contact the special SOAW helpdesk (sostenemi@fondodisosten.org). If it is established that an employer has not complied with his obligation, this will be passed on to SVB for further follow-up and possibly even recovery of the wage subsidy received.