Lei Chan U
The lawmaker, Lei Chan U, affiliated with the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM), wants the government to enforce a salary rise for civil servants to boost their morale and promote efficiency, remarking that in doing so, the executive would be also “setting an example” to be followed by the private sector.
Lei’s comments were made yesterday at the Legislative Assembly during the period before the agenda of the plenary session.
In a spoken inquiry, the lawmaker noted that with the arrival of the pandemic, the government froze all salary raises for civil servants, a situation that has lasted for over three years.
Making a direct comparison with the system in force in the neighboring region of Hong Kong, Lei noted that the government of Hong Kong has recently announced that civil servants’ wages would be increased this year by 2.87% and 4.65%, according to different levels.
Although noting the differences between the two regions, Lei noted that considering the perceived situation in Macau and the level of economic recovery, it would be sensible to proceed with a wage increase for next year, “to ease on their pressure, keep their purchasing power at a reasonable level, boost their morale and serve as an example for the salary update of workers in private companies.”
The inquiry was one of several delivered yesterday that seemed to be oriented to the Policy Address for 2024 (LAG24), which the Chief Executive said was the start of hearing the civil society on the topic.
With the fast-approaching legislative vacations to start in two weeks, several lawmakers, namely the directly elected ones, are turning their attention to the LAG24 to be announced around mid-November.
In a separate inquiry, also linked with FAOM, lawmaker Ella Lei also called on the government to resume the suspended benefits to the population, namely in the transference of funds to the pension funds of older adults, something that has not happened since 2020, as the funds are tied to the government accounts surplus.
