Still no discussion on what will happen to PHASE program when it expires June 30 in the DR

A few days after the end of the period of application of the Employee Solidarity Assistance Fund (PHASE), it has not yet been discussed what will happen to the program when it ends on June 30.

At least that is what the Minister of Labor, Winston Santos, knows so far. Last night he said that until that moment he had not participated in any discussion on the subject.

Yesterday morning, information was requested from the Ministry of Finance , but no response was obtained.

The Ministries of Finance and Labor, in coordination with the Dominican Institute for the Prevention and Protection of Occupational Risks (IDOPPRIL), are in charge of implementing and managing the PHASE.

Through decree 184-20, President Danilo Medina extended the PHASE until the 30th of this month with the possibility of reviewing the validity of the program at the end of this period, but until now it is not known whether it will be extended or not.

Both employers and employees are interested in knowing what will happen at the end of this term since many depend on this help that the Government is giving them to get through the pandemic crisis.

The program

The PHASE was created to temporarily support formal workers in the private sector with a cash transfer to offset the economic effects of measures taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus (C0VlD-19).

One modality of the program is that the Government grants suspended workers 70% of their salary, making a minimum contribution of RD $ 5,000 and a maximum contribution of RD $ 8,500 per month.

The other method is monthly support of RD $ 5,000 to companies that continue to operate, but they must complete the remaining amount, in full, of the worker’s ordinary salary.

Contributions made by the Government to suspended employees are not subject to withholding of any kind; neither shall they be considered computable for purposes of thirteen salary (13) or for the Social Security Treasury (TSS).

Despite the fact that the economy has been gradually reactivating and that the majority of companies are operating, although not fully, more than 800,000 workers remain suspended. Many fear that they will be permanently terminated at the conclusion of the PHASE.