Changes to Labour Relations Law explained at business seminar

The Macau Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) held a presentation yesterday at a British Chamber of Commerce in Macao seminar to inform businesses about the latest changes to the Labour Relations Law.
The latest amendment deals with compensation for overlapping holidays, mandatory work on statutory holidays and other forms of overtime work. It also extends the period of maternity leave from 56 days to 70 and establishes paternity leave of 5 days.
During a question and answer session, one seminar participant enquired about the eligibility for maternity and paternity leave for non-permanent residents whose application for continued residency is still under review by the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).
IPIM is responsible for handling immigration relating to large investment and skilled immigration.
The DSAL representatives could not answer whether these people, who hold neither resident identification cards nor foreign work permits, would be eligible for some of the new benefits.
The representatives said that they understand there are only two categories of people able to work in Macau: those that hold residency status and those who have a non-local work permit, more commonly known as a blue card. The participant, a lawyer at a well-known Macau law firm, said he disagreed with this assessment.
As reported by Macau Daily Times last month, a growing number of expatriates have waited years to find out if their residency status will be renewed, with little or no information advanced by IPIM. Though they are legally allowed to remain and work in Macau while their applications are under review, the lengthy wait has been a source of instability for many families here.
The DSAL representatives also discussed other matters during yesterday’s presentation, including the Minimum Wage Law, which takes effect from November 1. The law establishes a minimum wage of 6,656 patacas per month, 1,536 patacas per week, 256 patacas per day and 32 patacas per hour.
Macau Daily Times is the official media partner of the British Chamber of Commerce in Macao.