DSAL | Zero-tolerance policy toward unreasonable sacking of local workers

The Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL) released a statement saying that it will not “allow local employees to lose their employment rights.”
The announcement came out after about ten residents visited the DSAL to report their former employer, the Lisboa Palace, for terminating their employment on unreasonable grounds. The residents said they had been part of the cleaning staff at the Lisboa Palace construction site.
DSAL said it had a meeting with the parties involved in the issue, including the representatives of the site’s owners, contractors and those who filed complaints.
The owners’ representatives promised after the meeting that they would review the numbers and working categories of their local and expat employees. They added that if expat employees work in the same field as residents, the expats will be forced to exit first.
DSAL has helped 86 local employees register their information, and will continue to follow up on the issues in order to ensure that local workers’ employment takes priority.
The department said it would continue to review the employers’ expat employment records, pointing out that it will not tolerate a reduction in employment opportunities for local residents in favor of expat workers.
On Monday, lawmaker Lei Cheng I accompanied the group of people to DSAL. According to her, 86 local workers had been fired, all of whom were members of the cleaning staff at the Lisboa Palace construction site. Most had been employed on or after September 12 and were reportedly told to stop working after just two or three days. Some of the former staff voiced their belief that they had been fired to reduce costs.
Lei claims that Lisboa Palace currently has approximately 3,700 expat employees, some of which are also members of the cleaning staff.