Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon said yesterday that the government will set a ceiling on the number of public servants, which will not exceed 35,200.
According to Cheong, the maximum number of 35,200 will not include those employed by three public higher education institutions, namely the University of Macau (UM), the Macau Polytechnic University (MPU), and the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM).
Cheong made the remarks when replying to oral interpellations by several lawmakers during a Q&A plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle.
Cheong noted that the number of public servants was planned to stand at around 38,000 in 2019, and afterwards the government promised in April 2020 that the number of public servants would not exceed 38,000 in the future.
Cheong said that at the end of February this year, the number of staff employed by the three public higher educations stood at 2,694, while the number of public servants working for all other public entities stood at 34,692 – 37,386 in total.
Cheong said that the government plans to remove staff employed by the University of Macau, the Macau Polytechnic University, and the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies from the status of public servants. Cheong said that the possible measure will enable the higher education institutions to have higher flexibility in recruiting staff, adding that the government has concluded that higher education institution job positions holding public servant status was not favourable to academic development.
Cheong said that with Macau’s constant socioeconomic development, the number of public servants has been increasing over the past two decades. Cheong said that the current government, which started administering the city in December 2019, has rolled out various measures to limit the number of public servants. The government has ordered its various public entities to only recruit new staff, if necessary, with the aim of ensuring that the total number of public servants will not exceed 38,000, Cheong said.
Cheong said that after excluding the 2,694 staff employed by the University of Macau, the Macau Polytechnic University, and the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies, the government will adjust the maximum number of public servants to 35,200 in the future.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon (centre, upper row, not wearing a facemask) gestures during yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s (AL) hemicycle. Photo: GCS
