Six staff members dismissed by EPM filed complaints with DSAL

At least six of the staff members from the Portuguese School of Macau (EPM) have filed complaints with the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) following their dismissal from the school, the public broadcaster TDM reported.

According to the same source, the six staff members include five teachers and one psychologist who are part of a group of 10 staff members who were dismissed by the school at the end of this academic year.

In a previous report, the DSAL urged the school to abide by government policies and recruit resident workers rather than others who are not residents of Macau.

When confronted with the issue the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DESDJ) also noted that the EPM should comply with all regulations regarding the replacement of teachers from the school and take into account all the legal rights of those dismissed.

In the meantime, TDM also confirmed that the 10 new teachers that EPM director Acácio de Brito is said to have hired to replace those leaving the institution have not been cleared by the Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation of Portugal (MECI) to come to Macau under a special program for the posting of workers, as this program has been defunct for some time.

As the Times reported, MECI’s head Fernando Alexandre had said previously that new teachers would not be made available to replace those the school management may dismiss. Still, there was doubt about whether this measure applied to the current case, which has now been cleared.

Since MECI does not approve the posting of new teachers from Portugal to Macau, this means that all those coming to teach at the school will not be linked to the Portuguese official system and will be hired locally. This process has happened already for many years with some of the EPM’s hirings.

The major difference in this process is that the locally hired teachers’ period of employment does not count for career or retirement purposes in Portugal (in case they later decide to return to the country).