Lawmaker urges overhaul of domestic helper rules

[Photo: Lynzy Valles]

Legislator Wong Kit Cheng led calls for tighter regulation of the domestic helper market during yesterday’s Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary session on labor issues.

Wong raised concerns over irregularities in the city’s domestic helper market, noting that with an ageing population and a growing number of dual-income families, the number of foreign domestic workers in Macau had reached 28,791 as of the first quarter of this year.

She said many employers had complained about uneven service quality, with actual performance often falling short of agency promises, and some helpers deliberately seeking termination to force employers to bear repeated recruitment, training, and readjustment costs.

Under current law, employers are required to pay for the helper’s return airfare regardless of who is at fault for the contract termination, leaving them with little protection.

Wong urged the government to draw on Hong Kong’s experience and adopt a cross-departmental regulatory model combining agency oversight, immigration controls, and violation record-keeping.

She proposed reviewing the Law on Employment of Non-resident Workers to assign return travel costs based on termination responsibility, setting up a dedicated task force with the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) and the Public Security Police Force (PSP) to scrutinize frequent contract cancellations, establishing a two-way complaints channel, and introducing mandatory pre-arrival training alongside ongoing local training to raise overall service standards.

Meanwhile, legislator Leong Pou U focused on the persistent problem of illegal work. Citing DSAL data, he noted that 434 inspection operations were carried out in the first half of this year, up 20% from the same period last year, while 447 individuals were penalized for illegal work, a year-on-year increase of 72% – reflecting the continued severity of the issue.

He pointed out that illegal work had shifted from traditional sectors such as construction and catering to more covert activities, including unauthorized photography, makeup services, and underground work at conventions and concerts, posing significant enforcement challenges.

Leong called for a review of the Regulations on Prohibition of Illegal Work, which have been in place for over 22 years, and the Non-resident Workers Employment Law, which has been effective for more than 16 years, urging higher penalties to strengthen deterrence, better inter-departmental coordination, and more public education for both residents and visitors.

Lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho turned his attention to youth unemployment, citing data showing that while the overall local unemployment rate stood at 2.5% in the first quarter of last year, the rate for those under 25 reached 6.5% – more than double the average.

Around 3,700 higher education graduates were unemployed, with 20% never having held a job. By the third quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 24 had climbed to 11.7%.

Coutinho urged the government to plan ahead for civil service retirement vacancies and expand public sector internship programs to help young graduates enter government service.

He also called for contract clauses requiring concessionaires in public utilities – including water, electricity, gas, and transport – to hire local graduates, following the precedent set in gaming concession contracts, and for employment quotas to be included in public works contracts, mandating that contractors reserve technical, management, and professional positions for local graduates.