Briefs | UM to hold 14th Portuguese Speech Contest today

University of Macau’s (UM) Department of Portuguese, under the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, will hold the 14th Portuguese Speech Contest today at 9:00 a.m. at UM. The contest aims to stimulate students’ interest in learning Portuguese and enhance their language skills. Three local higher education institutions, namely UM, the Macao Polytechnic Institute, and the Macau University of Science and Technology, will each send their four best Portuguese- speaking students to participate in the contest. Organized annually by the Department of Portuguese, the contest aims to provide a platform for local college students majoring in Portuguese to showcase their language skills.

Group calls for compensation for overlapping holidays

Several representatives of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions delivered a letter to government headquarters urging the government to establish paid paternity leave as well as compensation for overlapping holidays. The letter was signed by 20,043 people. Lawmaker Lei Cheng I, speaking on behalf of the group, noted that the current labour law does not provide a solution for occasions when holidays and weekends overlap, depriving employees of their rights. She said that those who work for governmental departments are compensated with a special grant for exemption from work.

Fewer applications for temporary residency recorded

In the first half year of 2016, a total of 176 initial applications for temporary residency for managerial personnel, technical and professional qualification holders were received by the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM). This reflects a decrease of 60 compared with the same period last year, according to the information released yesterday by IPIM. Approved cases amounted to 46, up by 23 percent year-on-year. IPIM received 14 initial applications for major investment/investment plans (a decrease of 24 compared with the same period last year). Approved applications totaled one, representing five less compared to the first half of 2015.