Three hundred new cases of unemployment have been recorded by the Macao Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) over the past several months of the Covid-19 pandemic, equating to a year-on-year increase, the federation disclosed.
In response to the situation, the federation is offering job matching and referral services to those who have been rendered unemployed during Covid-19.
Data from the government’s Statistics and Census Service, however, shows only a 0.2% rise in unemployment from the same period last year. The latest unemployment rate is 3.1%.
Figures from the Labour Affairs Bureau shows that in the first four months of 2020, the bureau has been notified of 409 such cases, involving 817 employees. Compared with data from the same period last year, the number of cases dropped by 27% while the headcount dropped by 21%.
On the other hand, in the reply to lawmaker Ella Lei’s written interpellation, the government insists that it has measures in place to ensure businesses will not collapse amid the pandemic. Lei is an official at the FAOM.
In her interpellation, the lawmaker pointed out that despite the government requiring businesses to maintain both their operations and their employees for at least six months following receipt of the Covid-19 special subsidies, employers can easily lose contact with their employees once they have received the money.
The government will be giving each eligible business an amount between MOP15,000 and MOP200,000 in subsidies.
The lawmaker disclosed that she had already been notified of several dozen cases where employers could not be found. She expressed worry that the situation will create an additional burden for society.
In its reply, the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) pointed out that its measures to prevent businesses closing down and dismissing employees are the same measures that the lawmaker set out in her interpellation.
Meanwhile, in another written interpellation, the lawmaker recommended that the DSF improve its employee taxation inquiry platform so that employees can have easier access to their taxation records.
Previously, the government’s Covid-19 special subsidies revealed many companies that had not registered their employees for tax purposes. AL
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