The government announced yesterday that it is proposing to raise Macau’s statutory minimum wage to between 35 and 37 patacas per hour from the current 34 patacas an hour, an increase of between 2.94 percent and 8.82 percent.
The government also said yesterday that it is aiming for a new minimum wage to be implemented from January 1 next year, following the enactment of a bill amending the city’s minimum wage law – if passed by the legislature.
Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Chan Un Tong made the remarks while speaking to reporters after a regular closed-door meeting of the Standing Council on Social Concerted Action at the Macau Science Centre (MSC) in Nape.
The Standing Council on Social Concerted Action is a government-appointed consultative body tasked with advising the government on its labour policies.
Yesterday’s meeting was chaired by Secretary for Economy and Finance Anton Tai Kin Ip.
The implementation of Macau’s overall minimum wage system started on November 1, 2020. Since then, all employees in the private sector, except domestic helpers and those with disabilities, had been covered by a statutory minimum wage of 32 patacas an hour – or 256 patacas a day, or 1,536 patacas a week, or 6,656 patacas a month, before the amount was raised to the current 34 patacas an hour – or 272 patacas a day, or 1,632 patacas a week, or 7,072 patacas a month on January 1 last year, an increase of 6.25 percent.
The city’s overall minimum wage law requires the government to review the amount of the statutory minimum wage every two years.
The government completed its first review of the minimum wage amount, which assessed the minimum wage’s implementation between November 1, 2020 and October 31, 2022, in 2023. Later that year, the government submitted a minimum wage amendment bill proposing to raise the amount to 34 patacas an hour to the Legislative Assembly (AL), which passed the bill in its final reading in December 2023, after which the current minimum wage of 34 patacas an hour has been in force since January 1 last year.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Chan said that the government has now completed its second review of the minimum wage amount, which assessed the minimum wage’s implementation between November 1, 2022 and October 31, 2024.
According to Chan, the government has come up with a proposal to raise the statutory minimum wage, after which it presented its proposal to members of the council during yesterday’s meeting, namely representatives from the labour sector and those from the business sector.
Govt vows to strike right balance
According to Chan, the government’s second review of the minimum wage assessed the city’s economic situation and labour market, as well as the changes in employees’ overall salary levels and employers’ business operations, during the two-year period. The government has concluded that the current minimum wage could be raised after considering the review’s findings while striking the right balance between the improved protection of workers’ rights and benefits and the possible impact of a minimum wage hike on the city’s business environment and on consumers’ ability to adapt to the induced price hike, the labour affairs chief said.
Based on all these factors, Chan said, the government is now proposing to raise the city’s statutory minimum wage to between 35 and 37 patacas per hour.
Chan underlined that after gathering and studying the written opinions to be submitted by the council’s labour and business representatives, his bureau will prepare and submit a report on its proposed minimum wage increase to Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai for review.
Chan underlined the government’s commitment to submitting a minimum wage amendment bill to the legislature as soon as possible, adding that the government is aiming for a new minimum wage to be implemented from January 1 next year.
Business sector ‘strongly’ opposed
Also speaking to the media after the meeting, Vong Kok Seng, one of the council’s business representatives, said that the business sector strongly opposes a minimum wage hike as local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are currently affected by an adverse business environment due to various factors such as residents’ reduced spending power, an increased level of residents’ preference to spending money outside Macau, the changing consumption patterns of locals and visitors alike, and an unbalanced economic recovery.
Moreover, Vong said, local SMEs are also affected by high rents and difficulty in obtaining bank loans.
Consequently, Vong insisted, a minimum wage hike would make it further difficult for local SMEs to operate their business.
Vong, a vice-president of the influential Macau Chamber of Commerce (ACM), also said that employees’ wage levels should instead be adjusted by the market force, while also urging the government to launch more support programmes for local SMEs.
Labour reps welcome govt proposal
Also speaking to reporters after yesterday’s meeting, Kelvin Choi Kam Fu, one of the council’s labour representatives, said that the employee sector welcomes the government’s proposal to raise the city’s statutory minimum wage, calling for the amount to be raised to 37 patacas per hour.
Choi, a vice-president of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions, commonly known as Gung Luen in Cantonese, also urged the government to shorten its minimum-wage review process in the future.
Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Chan Un Tong speaks to reporters at the Macau Science Centre (MSC) in Nape yesterday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
