Dozens of cleaners endure three months without wages

Several non-resident workers employed in the cleaning sector face serious financial difficulties as many are reportedly yet to receive their salaries after their contracts ended on May 31.

With no apparent response from their employer, a cleaning company located at Rua da Palmeira, these former employees have nowhere to go.

According to an employee interviewed by the Times, her and several colleagues’ employment contracts ended on May 31, yet they finished their work with nothing. 

“They have not paid us our salaries for up to two months: April and May. We have [finished] our contracts already and there are no wages yet,” lamented a former worker who requested anonymity.

The minimum wage for local cleaners and security guards hired by property management service suppliers or those working in residential buildings is MOP6,656 per month. The daily salary is calculated on the basis of an expected maximum of eight hours work per day.

The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) stated recently that 29 non-resident workers filed a case at the bureau after a cleaning company failed to pay their wages.

According to the former employee, staff currently employed by the company have not received their salaries for the past three months.

“They’ve been giving out several excuses, so you would not know what and who to believe any more,” the non-resident worker said.

“It’s July already and we’ve been in a lockdown. Where else can we turn? We are just full of uncertainty at this moment,” she added.

Asked whether their overtime is paid, the worker said it was “usually not. We fulfill our duties and yet sometimes they even deduct [from] our salaries.”

Although the group who chose to have their contracts not renewed have been trying to make contact with the company, the worker said that it refuses to reply to them. 

The Times is also aware that several workers employed by another cleaning company do not receive a housing allowance. According to the labor law, non-resident employees are entitled to a monthly housing allowance of at least MOP500.

“We do not get that support, but what can we do? They threaten us that they will fire us. We’ll just have to accept it,” another worker who also requested anonymity told the Times.

According to DSAL, the bureau has contacted the company in question and demanded the provision of information in order to understand the salary payment situation.

“The government will continue to monitor the case, investigating it under the terms of the law, [and] certain that it will apply sanctions, if it comes to verify the existence of any act that violates the law, in order to guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of the workers,” the bureau said in a statement.