Civil servants association calls for increased benefits, improved administration

The Macau Civil Servants’ Association (ATFPM) has presented 14 proposals to modernize public administration, protect government employees, and strengthen Macau’s strategic role.

At a meeting between Chief Executive (CE) Sam Hou Fai and associations representing local civil servants and pensioners, ahead of the 2027 Policy Address, the association, led by lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho, called for a special retirement program for employees who become permanently unable to work because of a serious illness, regardless of their age or years of service.

According to the proposal, these employees should receive a pension proportional to their years of service, a guaranteed minimum income, and psychological and social support.

The association also recommends annual workforce planning for the civil service to anticipate retirements and other departures, noting that recruitment should begin early enough to ensure timely replacements, with an emphasis on hiring young graduates from local universities.

Public utility companies and concessionaires should follow similar workforce-planning and local-hiring requirements. In contrast, major public construction projects should be required to employ a minimum percentage of local workers, supported by on-site inspections, meaningful penalties, and a centralized professional registry for construction workers.

On housing, another major priority, the ATFPM believes that the government should reserve land in new urban developments for affordable housing for civil servants, particularly frontline workers. Housing should be allocated based on factors such as years of service, household size, and family income, and should be located near public transportation, schools, and healthcare facilities.

Regarding the management of the government’s workforce, the association proposes that it should become more flexible and efficient through a digital mobility platform, an employee talent database, and faster transfer procedures. The performance evaluation system should also become more objective, transparent, and directly connected to training, mobility, promotions, and performance incentives.

The association also said that when employees receive negative evaluations, they should be given individual improvement plans and appropriate training. In contrast, the joint committee responsible for reviewing evaluations and resolving disputes should include broader worker representation and operate with more independence.

More communication with associations

In another of ATFPM’s proposals, the government should establish a permanent forum for regular consultation with civil servants’ associations. The association said that these organizations should be consulted before laws or regulations affecting civil servants are adopted, and they should help design continuing professional development programs.

Additionally, government advisory committees should also become more diverse and transparent by regularly appointing new members from a wider range of social groups and publishing their meeting minutes, recommendations, and voting records.

Centralized digitization

To modernize and digitize government, the association believes the government should implement a unified online ecosystem with single sign-on, interoperable databases, fully electronic processes, and qualified digital signatures. All public procurement procedures should be published on a single searchable portal, including bidding documents, evaluation criteria, decisions, contracts, and implementation reports. Artificial intelligence could support administrative tasks such as reviewing applications, assessing regulatory impacts, and detecting fraud or other risks.

Status of Portuguese language

The association emphasizes that Chinese and Portuguese have equal legal status in Macau; therefore, public entities and departments should publish documents in both official languages, respond to residents in the language they use, improve translation quality, and ensure that civil servants who serve the public are bilingual. Similarly, workers who use both languages when serving the public should receive financial incentives, while the government should continue offering Chinese and Portuguese language courses.

‘Green city’ and arbitration center

Beyond public administration, the document recommends turning Macau into a model green city by expanding green spaces and ecological corridors, improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and incorporating sustainability into urban development.

Finally, the association proposes establishing a commercial arbitration center to resolve disputes between businesses in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area and companies from Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries.

Overall, the document envisions a deep transformation of public administration into a more efficient, transparent, digital, and participatory system, supported by stronger policies on local employment, affordable housing, environmental sustainability, and international development.