DSAL | Restructure focusing on residents ‘priority access to employment’

The new organizational structure of the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) includes six departments, one of which is specifically focused on the hiring of non-resident workers. DSAL’s administrative revamp was recently announced. A statement issued over the weekend disclosed further details of this adjustment.
A new division “of licensing and technical support” will start operating with the purpose of promotion and inspection of employment agencies, and treatment of the licensing requests of this sort of agency.
According to the statement of DSAL, the restructuring “will contribute to the optimization of several works as well as to promoting studies regarding human resources, to ensure that residents continue to have priority access to employment,” adding that its other aims are “effectiveness on the processing of the requests for non-resident workers, labor inspection, prevention of work accidents and profession-related diseases, and better training and professional orientation”.
Last week newspaper Jornal Tribuna de Macau (JTM) quoted a source in the now defunct Human Resources Office (the office was merged with DSAL on Saturday) saying that if gaming operators can promote locals to managerial roles, the DSAL department responsible for the hiring of non-residents would then “deny requests for working visa renewals.”
On May 20, while commenting on the findings of the official report on the mid-term review of the gaming industry, lawmaker Ella Lei said at the Legislative Assembly that “there are too many non-resident workers in management positions in the gaming industry.”   RM

ban on non-resident bus drivers continues

The government will not seek to change its current policy that bans non-resident workers from being employed as drivers of heavy vehicles, a statement from the government states. The policy’s reiteration sought to answer news reports in the Hong Kong media that suggested Macau’s regulations could be in the process of being changed to allow non-residents to take such jobs due to the high demand for professional drivers.