The government’s second 10-billion-pataca financial support plan for this year will only benefit Macau residents, with Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng clarifying yesterday that a recent proposal by a local association suggesting a 3,000-pataca consumption card for the city’s non-resident workers (NRWs) was not put forward by the government.
Ho made the remarks during yesterday afternoon’s plenary Q&A session at the legislature’s hemicycle.
The Macau Chamber of Commerce (ACM) submitted on Thursday a proposal to the government to give NRWs a 3,000-pataca consumption card in the second 10-billion-pataca financial support plan, which has triggered a heated debate in the civil society, with most comments rejecting the idea of including NRWs in the plan.
Ho clarified that the proposed 3,000-pataca consumption card for NRWs came only from a local association and did not represent the government’s decision on its financial support plan.
Ho also said that the government was currently receiving proposals from various associations for this year’s second 10-billion-pataca financial support plan, “but this does not mean that the government will accept all proposals,” Ho stressed.
Ho underlined that all Macau residents will benefit from the second 10-billion-pataca financial support plan, while the NRWs would “absolutely not” be included in the support plan.
Lawmaker José Maria Pereira Coutinho asked the government to pay more attention to children, the elderly, and people with disabilities when planning this year’s second 10-billion pataca financial support plan.
Ho said he fully understood the hardship Macau people are going through because of the COVID-19 pandemic and assured them that the government was determined to care for those in dire straits. Therefore, he said, this year’s second 10-billion-pataca financial support plan still needed to be weighed against the views from all sectors of society.
However, Ho said that it would take time for the government to settle this year’s first round of its 10-billion-pataca financial support in order to start planning the second round.
The second 10-billion-pataca financial support plan has been proposed by the government in response to the latest COVID-19 outbreak, aiming to benefit all Macau residents. Ho told lawmakers yesterday that Macau residents who fail to benefit from the first round of its financial support plan should wait for the second round.
Ho pointed out that this year’s second round of financial support plan could only be launched after meeting all the required legal conditions in November or December, i.e., after the legislature’s summer recess, so that the respective budget amendment bill can be passed by the legislature for the second round of the government’s financial support plan to finally get off the ground.
The legislature is slated to vote tomorrow on the extension of its current term from August 15 to 31, i.e. its summer break will start a fortnight later than usual.
Local unemployed vs NRWs
Ho acknowledged that the unemployment situation is “very serious”, pointing out that the latest unemployment rate among locals stands at 4.8 percent, which means that 15,000 residents are unemployed.
According to Ho, as of the end of June there were 162,391 NRWs in Macau, with the total number having been reduced by 34,147 since December 2019.
Macau confirmed its first COVID-19 case in January 2020.
Coutinho spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the plenary session, saying that he believed the current unemployment situation was worse than estimated. “I believe that far more than 30,000 people in Macau have lost their jobs,” the leader of the Macau Civil Servants’ Association (ATFPM) said.
Lawmaker-cum-trade unionist Lam Lon Wai told reporters that Macau residents were highly concerned about the impact of NRWs on the employment of local people, and he asked the government to ensure that local people are given priority in employment.
Ho told the lawmakers during the 3 ½-hour Q&A session that the government had given priority to local residents in the recruitment of samplers for the Nucleic Acid Test (NAT), and had successfully hired some local samplers.
According to a local media report, the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) has recently arranged NAT sampler jobs for 94 local residents.
Ho also said he hoped that civil society would consider whether local residents could replace NRWs if the latter were laid off, and questioned whether this would solve Macau’s unemployment problem.
Ho also noted that there are currently fewer than 8,000 local residents registered as unemployed in the DSAL online employment system, adding he hoped that all unemployed residents would register so that the government could take the appropriate measures to help them find a job.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (centre, left) addresses yesterday afternoon’s plenary Q&A session in the legislature’s hemicycle as Legislative Assembly (AL) President Kou Hoi In looks on. Photo: Ginnie Liang
