Pandemia leaves Madeira families living in “precarious situations”

The problems caused by the pandemic in tourism, the main economic sector in Madeira, put families “in precarious situations”, with all expectations being placed on the unraveling of the German and English markets in May.

“There are cases in which husband and wife were left without work, and these are very worrying situations. We hope that, in the future, if they do not get a job, they will continue to benefit from social support, because they need to live with dignity “, said the agency Lusa. responsible for the Madeira Hotel and Similars Union.

Adolfo Freitas considers that “the worst is yet to come”, especially when “government support ends”.

The number of complaints in the union, he emphasized, increased with the covid-19 pandemic, because “companies did not pay on time.” In the resumption, last year, there were “cases of violation by employers”, namely “non-compliance with working hours and alteration of rest days”.

“The news that has come out is that, as of May, the English market will start to move towards Europe, more specifically to Portugal. I hope so, because we urgently need tourism to feed our island”, he stressed the union leader.

Cláudio Pereira, a waiter, born in Funchal, has not received any income since September 2020, when the unemployment benefit ended, after a year on the job, and is an example of a worker who is suffering from the effects of the pandemic in the sector.

“They even said that they would not be able to renew the contract with anyone else on account of the pandemic. I am sure that, if it were not for that, they would renew with me and with other colleagues, who also left,” he said, explaining that they left the five other colleagues.

From Diário Notícias