About 1,800 protesters took to the streets on Friday to mark this year’s Labor Day. Amid the downturn in the city’s dominant industry and expectations of the new government cabinet, long-lasting protester appeals such as those for local workers’ employment security, housing security and a fairer welfare system, stood out amongst the various May Day petitions.
Workers from various sectors, especially gaming and transportation employees, as well as public sector workers, who are at the bottom of the pyramidal public system, launched their demonstrations in association with 13 trade unions and civic groups. Nine processions formed by these groups rallied at a variety of venues in the Northern District and Tap Seac Square, before marching to the government headquarters to petition the Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On.
About five hundred drivers from the bus, taxi and cargo transportation services as well as a motorcade of 47 vehicles took to the streets in the morning, urging the government to regulate the cross-
border drivers hired from the mainland and also to uphold its policy of banning non-locals from working as professional drivers. Additionally, the protesters appealed for better remuneration and welfare for drivers, as well as better transportation facilities in the city.
In addition, about two hundred taxi drivers from the Taxi Drivers’ Rights Association launched their protest in the afternoon, urging the government to reform the taxi license bidding system. Criticizing the current system where “whoever pays the most gets the license,” a leader of the union, Mr Chao, complained to the Times that it has caused a monopoly in the sector and forced drivers to pay high rents in order to remain in the industry.
The group also strongly protested the influx of migrant workers who are being employed as casino workers, as they fear the continuing industry downturn has led employers to prepare for future downsizing. However, this year’s march saw a significant decline in gaming workers’ turnout compared to last year.
Director of the Gaming Employees Advance Association, Willies Chen, was surprised at the turnout from his association, when only dozens of protesters showed up instead of the anticipated several hundreds. Ieong Man Teng, an activist leading the Forefront of Macau Gaming (FMG), also acknowledged the decline in his fellow demonstrators. He explained to the Times that many workers have been deterred from such social movement by the potential threat of being sacked from their job, while the few hundreds still willing to voice out see it as a critical moment to hold their defense.
The protesters shouted out slogans such as “Having earned hundreds of billions, casino companies have lost their memories,” or: “Casino management bullies frontline workers.” They fear that some casino operators might have been warming up for employee layoffs by picking on minor mistakes by workers and issuing an abnormal amount of warning letters.
According to Ieong, some pitch managers are being forced to submit a daily list of subordinates who have made a mistake at work, and some frontline workers have been sacked after receiving two to three warning letters. “From the complaints we received, it seems some casinos are issuing 60 to 70 warning letters in a day,” he said.
Some marchers stressed that such measures have beaten down workers’ morale and put them under great stress. They therefore appealed for “stability,” urging the authorities to reduce labor imports whilst putting an exit mechanism into place. Moreover, Willies Chen stressed that the government’s growth cap on gambling tables of 3 percent annually should be tightened to “a complete cease.” The leader of the Confederation of Trade Unions, Ms Cloee Chao also added that they are demanding legislation on trade union law to entitle workers a right to collaborative negotiation.
Besides employment security, workers from different sectors also called for better remuneration and healthier working conditions, including “immediate legislation on full smoking bans,” “night-shift working subsidies,” “compensation for overlapped public holidays,” “pay rises at the same rate as inflation,” “housing subsidies,” and “retirement security.”
“Workers’ tolerance has a limit. It is absolutely unacceptable if the citizens, especially the workers, cannot benefit from Macau’s economic development,” stated lawmaker Kwan Tsui Hang at the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM)’s rally in Friendship Square. The FAOM leader stressed that the Federation has rarely rallied on Labor Day in recent years, but it now considers it necessary to take a stance on protecting local worker’s rights, due to the “overflow of migrant workers.”
Hoping to “share the economic outcome with society,” the Associação dos Funcionários de Nível Básico de Macau (a low-skilled civil servant association) also emphasized grassroots workers’ demands to be equal with civil servants, in terms of welfare and retirement security. The union took to the street for the first time, hoping that the public system’s housing allowance and working experience bonus after retirement be expanded to include public workers on a rolling-contract.
“Those public workers have worked for decades without a permanent contract, and should enjoy the same pension policy as permanent civil servants. Otherwise, the gap within the public servant team will only widen and grow into a big issue,” said the union head, Lam Wai Koi, holding a petition letter with nearly 3,000 signatures. “Here we wear a red ribbon for good luck, hoping our protest can bring a good result where those hard workers can finally taste sweetness after the bitterness,” he added.
Another procession organized by grassroots associations included the Macau Workers’ Self-Support Association and the Association of Macau Activism for Democracy. They led a team of hundreds of marchers – mostly consisting of elderly people – with a truck carrying a banner that demanded “top official accountability” and for “the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, to step down.”
The leader, Cheong Weng Fai, explained to the Times that they felt disappointed with the new Secretary as “he couldn’t give any promises to solve the issues.” The groups are thus unwilling to give him time to improve and have appealed for him to be replaced.
“I think the appeals are even more diversified this year, as there are many different groups. This is only the beginning of a new term of government, thus the contradictions in society haven’t widened as has been the trend in previous [marches]. People will wait and see; the protests are just to give them a warning,” said lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong.
The Public Security Police (PSP) said it deployed a total of 180 agents to help maintain order during the Labor Day events.
Macao Youth dynamics goes ‘moderate’
Labor Day also saw a demonstration made up of dozens of young people under the banner of the Macao Youth Dynamics. The team leader, Ms Winkie Kuan, acknowledged the group’s shift in protesting appeals from “explosive topics” to the rather “moderate topic” of education. They were protesting against Macau’s “exam-oriented education where students tend to memorize without independent thinking,” as well as against the authorities’ “forceful implementation of the national education course.”
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