Policy Address | Economy and Finance: Gov’t to request more info on foreign workers before employment

Lionel Leong (center)

The government will be suggesting further amendments to the law governing the employment of foreign workers. Wong Chi Hong, the director of the Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL), told lawmakers yesterday that the government hopes to receive more information on employees prior to their arrival in Macau.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, returned to the Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary meeting yesterday for the second consecutive day to discuss with lawmakers his cabinet’s action plan for this year.
Lawmakers not only urged the government to improve overall human resources conditions by revising the Labor Relations law, but also advocated for the control of imported labor.
DSAL’s director assured lawmakers that amendments to the Labor Relations law will soon be handed to the Standing Committee for the Coordination of the Social Affairs (CPCS). Moreover, he stated that they’re hoping to provide the CPCS with a proposal in this year’s third quarter to review the law governing foreign workers’ employment.
He added, “We will be reviewing the law for the employment of foreign workers so that the government can obtain more data on the employees before they arrive in Macau.”
DSAL’s director did not disclose further details on the matter; nor did he explain what kind of information the government is hoping to collect regarding foreign workers.
The secretary acknowledged at Monday’s plenary session that “foreign workers have greatly contributed to the development of Macau.” Yesterday, he reiterated the role that they’ve played in Macau’s economic development, while stressing that the imported labor policy should only be applied to cases where there are not enough locals to fill job vacancies.
“I promise that there’s an exiting mechanism for foreign workers. Also, when a company, which has hired both locals and non-locals, records change to its production [volume], we will request that they present to us a report regarding quotas for foreign workers. We will request that they reduce the number of non-resident workers,” he stated.
Several lawmakers questioned the government on measures to solve Macau’s human resources issues. Wong Kit Cheng pointed out that Macau families are facing difficulties when both parents are employed and do not have enough time to take care of their children and elderly family members, therefore needing to resort to domestic helpers’ services. However, she recalled that both employers and employees have voiced concerns over how the recruitment process is handled by hiring agencies. She went even further to suggest that “the government does not have a legal scheme to recruit these workers.”
The DSAL director acknowledged that recruitment agencies play a very important role in hiring foreign workers. “We will request that each agency provides an employment structure service that can help employers choose [the most suitable] employee,” he added.
Some lawmakers yet again criticized an increase in the number of foreign workers hired in Macau. The Human Resources Office (GRH) director acknowledged that there has been an increase over past years, with the department receiving 36,000 applications in 2013, and over 45,000 in 2014.
She added that her department had started to record a large increase in the number of applications back in 2012. Currently, GRH has 85 staff dedicated to assessing applications, which are now being handled at an average of 30 days per application.
Lawmaker Kwan Tsui Hang, who has often voiced concerns over the hiring of foreign workers, urged the government to create a mechanism regulating the recruitment of foreign workers. Lau Veng Seng, on the other hand, called on the government to provide figures on how many foreign workers Macau needs and in which areas.
Secretary Lionel Leong again pledged to maintain the current principle of only allowing the recruitment of foreign workers when there are not enough residents to fill in certain positions. “This principle has never changed,” he said.

monetary authority may implement e-checks in 2016

AMCM is considering implementing an e-check system, allowing companies and citizens to send and receive checks online. Responding to lawmaker Chui Sai Cheong, who urged the government to introduce an electronic check system, AMCM said yesterday that it has been researching the matter and has already visited financial institutions in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong to learn more about their e-check systems. The director of AMCM said that these three cities use very different systems for electronic checks. “Taking into account the development of the banking sector, we will start working on the implementation [of e-checks]. We hope that we can have a project proposal completed within this year,” he said, adding that the government might be in a position to launch e-checks in 2016.