Absences for union meetings considered justified

In future, managers of trade unions will be entitled to take justified or reasonable leave in order to attend union “administrations” or meetings, a parliamentary committee has recently announced.

Lawmaker Chan Chak Mo, president of the parliament’s Second Standing Committee, made the announcement after the committee concluded a recent meeting on the Trade Union Bill.

According to Chan, there is a proposed cap for these justified absences of six days per calendar year, which may be taken consecutively or intermittently. Employees will be required to notify their employers at least three days prior to the required absence.

If the absence is unforeseeable, they will need to notify their employers as soon as possible and submit certifications.

He further revealed that at the meeting, some committee members asked whether employers would have the right to decline applications for such absences, should several trade union managers who work in the same company desire to take such leave at the same time or during the same period.

committee members also requested that the government clarify whether an employee can participate in more than one trade union. Definitions of “trade union administrations” were also sought, as some committee members wondered whether annual dinners would fall under this heading.

It is proposed in the Bill that, at the end of each season, local trade unions should report to the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) the activities organized or co-organized by non-Macau groups in which they have participated over that time period. Violators will be subject to a fine of MOP5,000.

Chan said that some committee members found this procedure burdensome and suggested it be changed to a warning.

As the Bill proposes that trade unions are registered within three years of the promulgation of the law, some Committee members asked what the legal consequences would be if they do not do so.

The committee has concluded the first phase of study.