Lawmakers call for salary hikes, retention of consumption incentives ahead of Policy Address

Ella Lei

Several lawmakers have called on the government and private companies to update workers’ salaries in 2026. This call, together with another for keeping the current consumption incentive measures, is said to aim to stimulate the local economy, reinforce consumers’ trust, and restore workers’ purchasing power, which has been declining significantly.

In separate inquiries delivered before yesterday’s plenary session’s agenda, lawmakers Ella Lei and José Pereira Coutinho highlighted the matter as a priority ahead of the government policy address for 2026 (LAG2026).

“The government should consider increasing civil servants’ salaries, encouraging gaming concessionaires or public utility companies, among other large companies capable of doing so, to raise wages and introduce more targeted consumption incentives to increase domestic demand, boost consumption, and ease pressure on residents,” Lei said.

He added that according to official statistics, “in the first half of this year, gross domestic product (GDP) recorded an annual increase of 1.8%, and the total value of the economy recovered to 87% of the figure recorded in 2019.”

Jose Pereira Coutinho

Lei also remarked that in the first nine months of this year, gaming tax revenues reached MOP70.4 billion, an annual increase of 6%, and that last month, gross gaming revenue (GGR) reached a six-year record high.

She further explained that while all these economic indicators show recovery and higher profits, workers have not benefited, who are continuously losing purchasing power and falling behind when compared with all the Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities.

Citing an academic study done by Hong Kong Baptist University, which surveyed over 50,000 employees of 39 local institutions, the lawmaker noted that workers in Macau have seen, on average, a salary increase of only 1.6% last year, down from 2.8% the previous year, and added that more than half of those institutions were planning to freeze salaries for next year.

The study also noted that the average salary increase of Macau workers lags behind that recorded in Hong Kong and the nine cities of the GBA.

“It is expected that the government will conduct studies on the timely updating of civil servants’ salaries to boost their morale. It can also appeal to and encourage large companies with the means to follow suit, such as gaming concessionaires or public utility entities, to rationally increase their workers’ salaries to stimulate domestic demand and increase consumer confidence,” Lei said.

The same lawmaker also urged the government to improve employment policies and the legal framework, enhance worker protections, and commit to solving the problem of structural employment imbalances.

Lei noted that the current measure of the community consumption carnival is about to close at the end of the month, calling for the continuation of measures of this kind to help community consumption.

She also added that the public hopes the government will inspect price hikes during these campaigns so that these measures do not negatively impact inflation.

Last but not least, Lei called for the government to include a “subsidy for daily expenses” to alleviate financial pressure.

Adding to these suggestions, lawmaker Pereira Coutinho said that “the loss of purchasing power among workers in the most vulnerable classes, including civil servants, is resulting in a shrinking middle class and widening the gap between rich and poor. These problems deserve our utmost attention, and urgent measures are needed to reverse the current situation, namely updating salaries for frontline civil servants.”

In addition to the two lawmakers who addressed the issue as the main topic, several other lawmakers have included it in their spoken inquiries. Newly elected lawmaker Kevin Ho also commented on the matter of consumption incentives, calling for the launch of “specific consumption vouchers to the community neighborhoods” exclusively for snacks and souvenir shops to draw visitors to these areas.

According to Ho, the idea is to create a “virtuous circle of affordable prices for visitors, which would increase customer flow and vitality in community areas.”

On the same matter, Wong Kit Cheng remarked that reducing purchasing power also influences the “dislocation of consumption” across the border and contributes to the growth of cross-border online shopping. These factors add to the burden on the weak sustainability of local small and medium enterprises.

Leong Sun Iok wants Jockey Club to be a sports complex

Lawmaker Leong Sun Iok is concerned with Macau’s lack of sports facilities. During the period before the agenda at the AL session, he remarked that this lack of facilities is not only limiting the offer to meet residents’ needs but is also hindering the bid to develop Macau into a “City of Sports.”

For this reason, he wants the government to decide whether to use the land of the former Jockey Club in Taipa as a sports complex.

“In recent years, there has been an increase in sporting events in Macau, and residents are increasingly participating in sports. However, limitations or lack of space are an obstacle to the development of local professional athletes and the promotion of and participation in sports for all. Sports facilities are essential for the development of sports, so I hope that land resources will be allocated to build more sports spaces and facilities, and in particular, to consider transforming the former Jockey Club into a sports, tourism, and commercial complex to meet the needs of different sports and create conditions for development, towards the transformation of the sports and cultural tourism sectors,” Leong said.

The lawmaker recalled that not only does the sports economy aim to be a driving force for Macau’s socioeconomic development and economic diversification, but it is also a worldwide trend that neighboring regions have already addressed.

“Currently, many cities worldwide are actively leveraging sporting events and sports products to drive the transformation and upgrading of cities and related industries. Looking at neighboring regions, the opening of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park and the completion or upgrading of different types of sports venues in both Guangzhou and Shenzhen not only contribute to local sports development but also provide conditions for organizing events and increasing tourism and cultural space, thus boosting the development of the economy and tourism.” Rm