AL Plenary | Trade union bill rejected for ninth time

Pereira Coutinho

The Legislative Assembly (AL) has rejected the trade union bill for the ninth time.

Voting took place during last Friday’s AL plenary meeting, where all government-appointed lawmakers rejected the bill. Twelve lawmakers voted in favor of the proposal, while 15 lawmakers voted against it.   

The bill, which was proposed by Pereira Coutinho, was supported by several lawmakers, including Lei Cheng I, Leong Sun Iok, Agnes Lam and Ng Kuok Cheong.

Of the lawmakers against the bill, Vong Hin Fai was the only one to openly voice his opinion. Vong declared the proposal to be in violation of Macau’s ordinary legal procedures, as the Standing Committee for the Coordination of Social Affairs (CPCS) had not been consulted as part of the process.

“I always mentioned that the bill involves overall benefits. It involves public consultation of Macau society, and that it [needs to be discussed] by the CPCS, as well as by society. […] I always questioned why this bill does not obey related regulations. Why did our colleagues not forward it to the CPCS for discussion? Why are they avoiding this responsibility? Regarding the bill, I cannot see any traces of feasibility. […] it needs to be massively amended […] from the perspective of its procedures and content, I disagree with the bill,” said Wong.   

Pereira Coutinho’s response to lawmakers’ opinions was that this bill needs fair treatment from society.

“Workers still encounter many unfair situations. Even though they receive a certain degree of care, problems still exist because our labor affairs law cannot protect all the associated benefits and rights,” explained Pereira Coutinho.

His response to Vong was that “in my opinion, we need to be flexible. Many of our bills come from the government. Some of the bills coming to the AL completely lack consultation. However, lawmakers were really generous to support the bills. Even myself, I always voted for it.”

“You do not need to worry about it. I believe they [CPCS members] are willing to come to the AL to listen to anything. I hope everybody involved in this great task can let society be a fair and healthy place,” he concluded.

Sulu Sou stated that “the Basic Law states that the Macau people are granted the rights and freedom to organize and participate in strikes. We, the lawmakers, took an oath to support and fulfill this responsibility and to undertake the international convention. The People’s Republic of China was also among the proposing countries and it too has the responsibility to fulfill the convention. If you, lawmaker Vong, are saying that the lawmakers [who proposed the bill] have violated society’s procedures so that the bill should not be supported, then […] shouldn’t the government be the one taking more criticism since it has so many resources?”

“For a very long time, did the Secretariat for Economy and Finance ever conduct a public consultation regarding the trade union law? The trade union law will not be established for workers to create troubles; it will not be established as a tool for workers to threaten their employers. It is, in fact, providing a condition for both parties to communicate,” continued Sou.

“If having a trade union law will wreak havoc on the economy, then, knowing that mainland China implemented its trade union law in 1950, are you saying that mainland China’s economy is unstable because of that?” continued Sou.

Among the 14 directly elected lawmakers, Mak Soi Kun and Zheng Anting voted against the proposed bill. Julie Zhu

Proposal p¢assed to increase rights of the elderly

A bill protecting the rights of elderly people was passed at the Legislative Assembly last Friday.

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, opened with the statement that Macau is becoming an aging city and that elderly folks might comprise 20.7 percent of the total population by 2030.

This bill will meet expectations and appeals carried over from past years regarding measures to support the elderly population.

Tam’s secretaries started preparing the bill back in 2009, and conducted public consultations in 2011 and 2012.

Several lawmakers enquired about the details of the bill and the government’s policies for supporting the elderly population, as well as dealing with an aging population and the associated expenditures.

According to Tam, nearly 25 percent of the government’s expenditure in 2017 was used for social security, while 12 percent was used for medical care and 15 percent for education.

“The government is very decisive and very willing to invest more resources to secure the rights of the elderly,” said Tam, who expressed confidence in achieving his goal.

The bill was passed with the support of all lawmakers.

Another bill amendment which was passed concerned the security force. As explained by Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak, the amendment included high-ranking customs officials in the group of potential candidates for leadership of the Public Security Force Affairs Bureau of Macau.

“It is necessary that the bureau’s appointment of principal officials be extended to customs, thus allowing principal customs officials to have the possibility of being promoted,” said Wong.

On the lawmakers’ agenda

NON-POLITICAL ORGANIZATION Sulu Sou criticized the government for having allegedly misinterpreted the Basic Law on the establishment of the non-political municipal organization. “The government changed the definition [of some words in the Basic Law] to completely ban the possibility of a democratic election [for the municipal organization],” said Sou.  “What Macau needs is a representative mechanism which represents [society’s] opinions from bottom to top.”  Sou said the establishment was killing and hiding the voice of democracy. Ng Kuok Cheong voiced a similar opinion, vehemently protesting the lack of democratic progress. 

BUS FARE INCREASE Ho Ion Sang said that increasing the bus fare will increase the financial burden on residents who need public transport. In Ho’s opinion, the government will only increase its own expenditures by subsidizing the bus industry.  Ho suggested that the government research Macau’s bus service further, as well as the consequences of hiking the fares, before the bus service concession ends in 2018.  Lawmaker Lei Cheng I voiced the same concerns, saying that the government should consider people’s livelihoods as well as its own budget relief.

CASINO TOBACCO CONTROL Leong Sun Iok suggested the government deploy 24-hour tobacco control police in casinos, as well as establish a 24-hour hotline to handle complaints from the public. Leong reiterated that the government should keep pushing forward a complete ban of indoor smoking to ensure that casino employees are not harmed by the smoke. He added that tobacco control inside VIP lounges is not ideal, as this effectively allows VIP customers to smoke illegally.