Policy Address | Economy and Finance: Lawmakers request gov’t to control foreign labor quotas

Foreign labor policies have been once again debated at the Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary meeting. This is following requests from some lawmakers to implement  a temporary ban on imported labor if needed.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, yesterday attended the plenary session to discuss his cabinet’s action plan for this year.
As an advocate for the rights of local workers, lawmaker Lei Cheng I stated that the Human Resources Office is not managing the non-resident workers recruitment program to the best of its abilities. “Local employees do not see their salaries being revised because of a large scale recruitment of foreign workers,” she recalled.
Lei suggested that the government implement a temporary ban on the import of foreign labor, so that more job vacancies could be allocated to residents.
“The government needs to put a stop to the import of foreign workers. It should implement a measure preventing the import of foreign workers for a [certain] period of time following the first [wave] of authorizations given to foreign workers. We have over 170,000 non-resident workers… could you tell us the number of foreign workers we still need?” she stated.
Au Kam San, who is also known for his dedication to championing the labor rights of residents, suggested that, “the import of foreign workers is affecting the distribution of social resources.”
“The government is authorizing more quotas [for the hiring of foreign workers] than needed. Saying that we lack a sufficient number of workers is easy (…) We need to truly understand whether we are lacking [residents] to fill in those vacancies,” he recalled, adding that the government is actually not enforcing a limit to quotas provided to companies.
“As long as there’s a green light [to recruit foreigners], labor imported will be nearly unlimited, and it will affect locals, who might end up unemployed,” he reiterated.
Responding to the concerns of lawmakers, Secretary Lionel Leong highlighted foreign workers’ contributions to Macau’s economic development. “We have always stated that we only hire foreign workers when there’s not enough locals [to fill in the positions],” Mr Leong stressed.
He added that, “we cannot hide their contribution to MSAR’s development. We have a 1.7 [percent] unemployment rate. Foreign workers have greatly contributed to our economic development.”
Moreover, he confirmed that the percentage of residents, for instance, working in the construction sector and those working in the education sector account for more than 50 percent of the overall number of employees.
Lawmaker Lei Cheng I further stressed that Macau residents are facing higher inflation, which is partially triggered by the recruitment of many foreign workers who now live in Macau.
Au Kam San added that, “nobody is against the import of foreign workers. ”They’re rather against the import of foreign workers on a large scale. He believes “Macau is opening its doors indefinitely.” He therefore called on the government to provide a clearer plan on how many non-resident workers should be hired, and which sectors should not be permitted to recruit from the local labor force.
Fong Chi Keong, on the other hand, recalled that not all Macau residents are interested in working, for instance, for the construction sector, and therefore it is not always possible to recruit locals.
The secretary assured that the Human Resources Office follows up closely the recruitment process of foreign labor within the construction sector. Once major construction projects end, most of these workers will also leave Macau, he added.
When it comes to small and medium-sized enterprises, however, the secretary announced that measures will be taken to speed up recruitment procedures.
Mr Leong returns to the AL today to continue discussions on his cabinet’s action plan for 2015.

budget framework law to enter legislative process in 2015

The Budget Framework Law is due to enter the legislative process within this year, Lionel Leong revealed. Lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong requested more details on amendments to the Budget Framework Law, as its revision allows for better management of the budgeting of public works. Lawmaker Ng recalled that major public works, such as the LRT and the Pac On Ferry terminal, have often demanded a budget much bigger than the ones which have been initially set.  Mr Leong revealed that the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) has already provided a first draft of the law, but will request further consultation from the Commission of Audit. The government will also launch a public consultation on the law. “We are hoping that the law enters legislative process in 2015,” he said. The secretary also said that following amendments to the law, the budgets of major public works will have to be discussed at the AL should they be exceeded.