Turkey will pay 2,1 million lira ($ 153) each to the poorest families to help cope with the financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Payments will be made in cash from April 1, Dünya reported on Monday, citing Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services Zehru Zyumrut Selçuk.
According to the minister, the government expanded the scope of the program, increased financial support and accelerated the implementation of the project. The cash will be paid by foundations and trusts, she said.
Earlier this month, Turkey announced an economic support package worth up to 100 billion lira ($ 15 billion). Some economists and commentators have criticized these measures for focusing on business at the expense of wage earners and the country's poorest citizens.
Selcuk said 19 companies asked the government last week to take advantage of the payments to support short working weeks for employees. All firms in the country that want to benefit from this scheme can do so, she said. Almost two-thirds of the applications came from businesses in the manufacturing, hospitality and food sectors, she said.
Workers who qualify for this scheme had to work in the past 60 days and pay 450 days of social security contributions over the past three years, Selcuk added.
She stressed that workers can receive up to 75% of their net wages with an upper limit set at 150% of the minimum wage. Let's remind that in Turkey it is 2 thousand 943 lira.
