Lawmakers call on gov’t revision of support measures, better employment protection

Ella Lei

A group of lawmakers, namely those linked to the Macau Federation of Trade Unions, have urged the government to review the support measures for the population and companies to help them cope with the economic downturn resulting from the Covid-19 crisis.

The separate spoken inquiries were delivered in the period before the agenda at the Legislative Assembly session on Monday, with the lawmakers urging the government to do more to protect employment and guarantees for local workers.

The employment survey carried out in the last quarter of 2021 by the Statistics and Census Services revealed that the unemployment rate of residents rose to 4.1%, the unemployed population reached 11,900 and the underemployed population reached 15,000.

According to lawmaker Ella Lei, such figures show that the situation of unemployment needs to be solved as a matter of urgency.

The lawmaker added the recent problems with gaming and civil construction workers being considered redundant are further aggravating the pressure on the job market.

The lawmaker considers that the economic recovery announced by the government is progressing in a very slow manner which does not suit a population in distress and facing urgent problems.

“The government launched, in October last year, eight support measures to alleviate the pressure of SMEs (Small and Medium-size Enterprises) in business and the difficulties of workers, contributing to the continuity of many of the shops and guaranteeing the employment of locals,” she said.

Nonetheless, it is “expected that the authorities review the effectiveness of these measures, define a response plan and constantly assess the impact resulting from the pandemic situation for the market, launching, on time, measures to increase the confidence of the market in general to stabilize the access to employment.”

Leong Sun Iok

Preceding Lei’s address, lawmaker Leong Sun Iok had noted the same problem, stating that, among the newly unemployed, “more than half have involuntarily lost their jobs due to dismissal, termination of temporary employment or company closures,” and noting that sectors such as gaming, food and beverage, civil construction, tourism, and fishing have suffered, not only with unemployment but also with an added “deterioration in the employment conditions.”

Leong reminded the government that the philosophy of people accepting jobs while “earning less” is “just a temporary measure” on a long-term path that needs to point to more assertive measures “striving for progress”.

The same lawmaker also noted that, while locals have been losing their job posts or are being forced to accept lower salaries for the same job, there are still a large number of non-resident workers (TNR) in Macau, which he claimed had been less affected by the crisis.

Leong called on the government to “carry out a detailed analysis and improve the TNR management mechanism so that residents can access good jobs, guarantee their priority in access to employment and optimize their space for professional development.”

Call for another 

MOP5,000 e-voucher

Going even further in the calls for more support for residents and local companies, lawmaker Song Pek Kei has called upon the government to issue another round of stimulus measures for consumption cards by giving 5,000 patacas to each resident via electronic consumption methods.

“The government must increase the measures to stimulate the internal economy, implementing, once again, the electronic consumption card with 5,000 patacas, to directly stimulate the internal economy, maintain its vitality and promote investment and domestic consumption to support the gradual recovery of Macau’s economy,” she said, while also calling for added measures such as the waiving of water and electricity bill payments for three months.

“The government can learn from the support measures adopted in the past, for example, the waiving of payment of water and electricity for three months, to reduce the burdens on both businesses and residents,” Song remarked, calling also for the creation of a special fund (Risk Fund for SMEs) that would provide direct economic support to SMEs and micro companies, “guaranteeing their resilience against unpredictable risks.”