Directly affected by the effects of the new coronavirus pandemic, the bar and restaurant sector is unlikely to find a solution to the delivery crisis. Although it needs government help to avoid mass layoffs.
That being so, at least that is what the president of the National Association of Restaurants (ANR), Cristiano Melles, defends, who spoke on the subject in a live broadcast by XP Investimentos.
According to Melles, the sector earns around R$ 400 billion per year, employing 6 million people. Therefore, revenues from delivery services do not even reach 4% of this total. “It's growing, of course. There was a vision that delivery could help. But, in fact, delivery does not solve the problem at all”, he evaluates.
delivery in the crisis
Although the president of the ANR believes that, at this time of crisis, the big debate is how to keep jobs, and the way out is in the hands of the government. He suggests that the government pays for four months the wages of employees in the sector's base, who earn the minimum wage provided by law (R$ 1.045).
“There is no other option but for the government to support us”, he argues. “I'm not saying that I want to pay the executive [of the company] with that money. However pay minimum wage for the tip. We are the first job sector, where most young people are employed. Without support at this time, we will hardly have establishments reopening.”
Comparison with the US
Cristiano Melles also mentioned the Brazilian government's project to pay emergency aid of R$ 600 per month, for three months, to informal workers. The measure was compared by the president of the ANR with the US$ 1,200 check that the United States government is giving to millions of Americans.
“There they have a situation as dramatic as ours. But, unlike Brazil, the check for US$ 1,200 is reaching people's hands. What we understand is that now, in order to have a minimum job protection network, we also need this check to reach the base of the pyramid”, he argues.
