Legislative Assembly | Lawmakers express concerns over Trade Union law proposal

Lam Lon Wai

Several lawmakers have expressed concerns over a proposal, currently under public consultation, for the establishment of a Trade Union law in Macau.
In the period before the agenda of yesterday’s Legislative Assembly plenary session, many inquiries were made on the topic.
Lawmakers Lei Chan U, Lam Lon Wai, and José Pereira Coutinho were among the most active on the matter, calling on the government to take into account aspects of the history of Macau, as well as international conventions on the matter, so that the law can best reflect both the local reality and worldwide trends.
Pereira Coutinho was the most critical, having previously proposed many bills of the same type. He criticized the proposal by claiming that it “brutally atrophies the core values of workers’ rights stated in Article 27 of the [Macau] Basic Law.”
The lawmaker says that the proposal submitted for public consultation will result in an “amputated, lame and inoperative” union law.
He also urged the government to explain why civil servants, medical and nursing personnel, water, and workers from electricity, telecommunications, public transportation, and security are excluded from the general law, but not the gaming workers.

Lei Chan U

Pereira Coutinho noted that international conventions regulated by the International Labour Organization (ILO) state that “workers and employers, without distinction of any kind, have the right, without prior authorization, to form organizations of their choice, as well as to join these organizations, with the sole condition of complying with the statutes of the latter.” He said that restricting such a universal right is a clear abuse of the international conventions, which Macau claims to respect and ratify.
In Pereira Coutinho’s view, the government should strictly respect Article 27 of the Basic Law and establish a union law under which union activities are “free, without subordination to employers or the limitations and interventions of public services,” he said, adding that “only in this way [will] workers will be able to fight and defend their rights.”
More moderate lawmakers linked with the Macao Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) opted to express satisfaction with the establishment of the law, while also expressing the hope that the government will collect the opinions of society and take them into account.

Pereira Coutinho

“Although the union law regulates the organization and functioning of union associations, its objective is to improve working conditions, reduce conflicts between employers and workers, increase company productivity and create a real ‘win-win’ situation,” Lam Lon Wai said. He called on the government to continue to support the Standing Committee for the Coordination of Social Affairs as the best place to hear the opinions of all involved, and to mediate conflicts between workers and employers.
Lawmaker Lam also called on the government to respect local historical traditions and current realities in the drafting of the union law so that it can be “adapted to the development and situation of Macau.” He also noted the need to include some temporary provisions in the new law to ensure a smooth transition between the current system supported by workers’ associations to a new system of unions.
The lawmaker said that these historical associations, which include the FAOM, have contributed over many years to “safeguarding workers’ rights and interests, promoting labor and employer harmony and economic development, and improving labor security.”
In Lam’s view, the new trade union law “must stipulate that [the associations] continue to carry out their duties as well as ensuring that union representatives or members of the union leadership structure are not subject to unfair treatment at work, or affected in their livelihood due to representing the rights of other workers.”
In turn, lawmaker Lei also noted the ILO conventions, and the fact that Macau has ratified only some but not all of these.
Lei expressed a view that even if the establishment of the trade union law fulfills more conventions under the worldwide rules, this should not be an “end in itself” but a starting point for the fulfillment of all ILO conventions.
“Some international labor conventions related to labor standards do not apply in Macau, but this does not prevent the government from taking them as an important reference for the enhancement of workers’ labor rights and interests,” Lei said. The lawmaker added, “I hope that the government will materialize the concept of ‘development for the people and sharing the fruits of development, strengthening workers’ guarantees.’”