DSAL: Middle-aged people face no employment discrimination

Ella Lei

Lawmaker Ella Lei delivered a written inquiry to the Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL) questioning the labor authority’s policies for ensuring that the employment rights for middle-aged people are well protected.

Lei noted that “DSAL has always claimed to pay attention to the employment situation of middle-aged residents. However, actual cases and data show that employment assurance to local residents, especially the middle-aged, should be enhanced, in particular the authority should inspect whether age discrimination exists in employment market.”

“What are the exact measures the authority has in order to secure the employment rights of local residents, and to help them to not be discriminated or excluded because of their age?” Lei suggests the government should require big enterprises, which hire non-local workers, to instead hire suitable or well-trained middle- aged local residents.

Lei also questioned if the authority helps middle-aged residents to improve their competences.

Wong Chi Hong, director of DSAL, replied to Lei saying that DSAL ensures middle-aged people are not affected because of their age when DSAL provides employment assistance to these people. 

DSAL sends supervisors to interviews in order to check the interview process to guarantee that no discriminating employment issues are occurring.

“In the future, DSAL will open more training courses for middle-aged residents and residents of other ages according to Macau’s actual needs, and DSAL will continue to improve its employment referral service in order to help middle-aged people enhance their employment competences,” Wong’s reply reads.