The return to high activity in different economic sectors, revived by the sudden increase in the number of visitors, is creating an unbalanced recovery of the local economy that is penalizing workers while benefiting employers, lawmaker Lei Chan U said yesterday at the Legislative Assembly (AL) in a spoken inquiry delivered in the period before the agenda of the plenary session.
Lei noted that over the last three years “many workers had their salaries frozen or were forced to take long-term unpaid leave, but they insisted on standing by their companies during those difficult times.” Lei added that it is now time for companies to repay workers by increasing workers’ wages, “so that they may also receive the fruits of the recovery and economic development.”
Several lawmakers, namely those representing the workers’ sector, have been remarking that while companies have called for extra efforts from their workers during the pandemic with unpaid leave, salary cuts, and other losses of privileges, after the pandemic they were called again to put in extra effort namely to face the shortage of manpower.
Lawmakers said these workers were requested to work even harder and, in many cases, to work longer hours as companies had dismissed many workers without hiring new ones.
Lei added that the problem is broader and extends beyond the borders of Macau, being addressed in a recent meeting from the Asia-Pacific International Labour Organization (ILO) that took place in Singapore at the end of 2022.
In this meeting, ILO appealed to all countries to do more to ensure inclusive growth, pointing out that despite the big differences in socio-economic situations of different countries, they face a common problem, which is, “workers, companies, and families in all countries have been hit hard due to the pandemic,” which resulted in financial problems, loss of purchasing power and, in many cases, had a major impact on the economic stability of the household.
A joint declaration was signed at the meeting that highlights “the need to strengthen effective social dialogue and tripartite cooperation to promote social justice and fundamental principles and rights at work, in favor of promoting full, productive and freely chosen employment, and of everyone’s right to decent work,” the lawmakers said.
They also noted that the current negotiation system that seats at the same table, workers, employers, and government – Standing Committee for the Coordination of Social Affairs (CPCS) – has not been successful in achieving the goal of “decent work conditions,” urging the government to also simplify and accelerate the work on the resolution of labor-related disputes.
On the same topic but in a different spoken inquiry, lawmaker Nick Lei said that there are still many residents who are suffering from unemployment and underemployment, noting recent official statistics from January that show only a slight decrease in the unemployment rate.
“It should be noted that, although the economy is gradually recovering, many workers have not yet managed to return to work. Many residents are waiting in anticipation for the wealth partaking scheme [cash handouts] to relieve the pressure of life,” he said, adding that “the government should pay attention to unemployed residents and people with financial difficulties, affected by the epidemic, and introduce measures to stabilize the life of the population, so that everyone, including unskilled workers, can experience post-epidemic recovery.”
On the other hand, the representative of the business sector, lawmaker Wang Sai Man expressed resistance to increasing the minimum wage and the number of paid days for maternity leave. According to Wang, if the government opts to increase these benefits small and medium sized companies will need new measures, such as tax cuts, exemptions, and subsidies so the new measures will not be an “extra burden.”
