Lawmaker Pereira Coutinho used a part of his pre-agenda speech to accuse casino management staff of invading the privacy of some workers by forcibly checking their phones. He implied that employees’ phones were being checked for misconduct and that any findings of such could be used to avoid renewing employment contacts.
According to the lawmaker, the affected workers are local residents.
He said that the privacy breach has been reported to the Labour Affairs Bureau, which told the employees to file a report to the Public Security Police Force. However, the police have refused to take on the case, claiming that it is within the authority of the bureau.
On top of the disclosure, the lawmaker made four recommendations to the government in the hopes of relieving burdens on residents. These are to waive electricity and water charges on residents until December this year, refund this year’s circulation tax to private cars and motorbike owners, issue an extra wealth partaking scheme fund (commonly known as the handout), and waive rents on government premises for the second half of the year.
Also during the pre-agenda period, lawmaker Agnes Lam urged the government to increase its assistance for residents with disabilities.
She cited a survey by the Fu Hong Society, which found out that 80% of the 234 caretakers of people with mental handicaps suffered from mid to high levels of depression or anxiety symptoms. Most of them are women because cultural traditions dictate that women are normally the caregivers of the family.
Among these caretakers, above 46% earn less than MOP5,000 per month, while 60% need to provide care for more than 100 hours per week. In contrast, the lawmaker pointed out that the legal maximum work week is 48 hours in Macau. She stressed that caretakers have no way to take breaks or holidays from their “work”.
Referencing Taiwan as an example, which allows an annual 21-day “recess” period for caretakers, on top of citing the recommendations made by the Fu Hong Society, Lam urged the government to institutionalize subsidies for caretakers, in addition to gathering data on such families.
Meanwhile, José Chui Sai Peng recommended that the government take real action to improve the city’s flooding problem. He referred to the concept of a “sponge city,” which is a city that absorbs rainwater.
The concept has been adopted by many places in the world, including more than 30 cities on the mainland, as well as in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Under this system, rainwater flows through the road and is collected by vaults.
Furthermore, the lawmaker recommended rainwater collection and recycling using buildings, roofs of buildings, green areas and other possible locations. Finally, Chui once again urged the government to review and refine the city’s drainage network.
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