Alexis Tam pictured during yesterday’s plenary session
The detailed discussion and approval of the bill that establishes the so-called second level of social security system (Non Mandatory Central Provident Fund Scheme) provoked yesterday a rare standoff and moment of doubt at the Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary session.
The bill, which had been approved last year in general terms and was awaiting detailed scrutiny, was finally approved after an extension of time at the AL session. The discussion generated several standoff moments between the government, represented by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam and the director of the Social Security Fund (FSS), Chong Seng Sam, as well as several lawmakers who questioned essential parts of the document.
Among those who raised many questions yesterday was in fact the vice president of the AL, Lam Heong Sang, who expressed his concerns over the law since even “after so many [10] years of discussion” it still proposes a system that is “non mandatory.”
Lam eventually resorted to requesting that the AL president mandate several articles of the bill to be voted on as separate motions. This opinion was endorsed by several other lawmakers, including Ella Lei, Ng Kuok Cheong, Gabriel Tong, Kwan Tsui Hang and Song Pek Kei.
In dispute were several fundamental principles laid out in the bill in relation to three aspects of Macau law. Firstly, the bill employs the use of the “base salary” – as opposed to “base remuneration” as in the labor law – as a factor to calculate the size of the contributions required by both the employees and their employer.
According to the lawmakers, in some professions there is a substantial difference between the values of these two terms.
“In [some], such as in the gaming and the restaurant business, there is a significant gap between the two amounts,” lawmaker Lei mentioned, adding: “We need to calculate [the amount to transfer to the fund] not based on base salary but on base remuneration in a way that we can pair it with the real monthly allowances [of the workers] including subsidies, tips and other kinds of extra income.”
Secretary Tam replied to the objection by noting that the government had opted for the “base salary” with the purpose of “articulating the [Central Provident Fund] with private pension plans [already in place from several companies] that already include 70,000 workers.”
“In these regimes, it is the base salary that is used as reference,” he said, adding, “We have also opted for that because the basic salary is more stable and subject to less fluctuation.” Tam also said that the base salary had the purpose of “not increasing the burden to the employers.”
He advanced that it is “mostly in the croupier [profession] that there is an important slice [proportion of income] that comes from commissions and tips.”
However, his response eventually led to a request by lawmaker Cheang Chi Keong for both legal advisors from the government and from the AL to be called to intervene in the plenary session, explaining the consequences of voting for some of the bill’s articles separately.
The legal experts explained that in the event of a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill, there was a risk that the entire document would become invalid. In the example they provided, if the first article of the bill was rejected, article 26 (which refers to the first article) would cease to make sense. “In the case that number 1 is not approved, number 2 stops making any sense,” said one legal expert. “In fact the entire bill stops making sense.”
Tam and Chong continued to try to convince the lawmakers that the bill merely established minimum standards and that “employers and employees could reach an agreement for better conditions.”
Another source of strong disagreement was in regards to the fund system, which mandates progressive levels. Workers that have contributed to the fund for less than three years are not entitled to receive any compensation when they retire. Moreover, after the initial three years, participating employees can only redeem a fixed proportion of their contribution depending on how many years they have been under the arrangement with their employer. The full amount is only redeemable after 10 years of contribution.
Since the fund is based with a single employer, the worker is required to remain with said employer during the entire period to redeem the full amount. This was a concern raised by many lawmakers, including Au Kam San, who said that it didn’t make any sense given the current social characteristics of employment in the region.
Additionally, the current bill omits reference to workers on contracts of less than three years and those whose contracts are terminated before the three-year period. The government admitted yesterday that it does “not yet have solutions.”
After a long discussion, the bill was finally sent to vote and approved, though not before the AL president, Ho Iat Seng, unusually made use of his vote – something he admitted that he was doing for the very first time.
In the most disputed voting, the bill passed with 18 votes in favor, seven votes against and one abstention.
The non-mandatory pension scheme will be enforced starting next year and subject to assessment within three years.
On the lawmakers’ agenda
SOLUTIONS FOR THE CANIDROME Chan Hong and Ho Ion Sang addressed the plenary asking the government to take a position regarding the land where the Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome currently operates ahead of its expected closure.
“Attending the educational development and needs of residents,” Chan said, the government should use the land for an “educational complex composed of several elements, namely of social, cultural, artistic and leisure [kind].”
Chan expressed his hope that the government would materialize the idea in an “innovative mentality” to reach a “win- win-win” for all residents, schools and students.
As for Ho, he suggested the area could be used to remedy the lack of parking lots and green areas, noting the potential use of the area as a sports field by local schools. Ho suggested that the government find a way to include it in the “Blue Sky” project.
GREATER BAY AREA Ma Chi Seng and Dominique Sio addressed the plenary to remark on the opportunities that are being offering with the creation of the so-called Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay area, namely for SMEs that have the chance to diversify their business and services and expand cooperation across borders. Sio specifically urged the government to assume the role of “perfect connection agent,” highlighting the “imports and exports” of merchandise, funds, information and people among these regions as a solution to the economic adjustment difficulties.
LAWS WITH MISTAKES Mak Soi Kun expressed concern over the recent news of reported inconsistencies in several laws between the Portuguese and Chinese versions. Giving the example of the electoral law, where penalties were clearly defined for the presentation of multiple applications in the Portuguese version of the law but not in the Chinese version, Mak remarked that there are many other examples where these kinds of mistakes, inconsistencies and bad translations occur. Blaming the low professional level and competence of the juridical translators, Mak said that there is “a need to intensify training [in these fields] in order to keep up with social development.”
Expressing fears that the case reported might only be “the tip of the iceberg,” the lawmaker suggested the government to create a committee in charge of verifying all versions of the law to ensure they match.
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