Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Wong Chi Wong says that the government now aims to submit a trade union bill to the Legislative Assembly (AL) for debate and vote before the end of this year.
Wong made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Monday after a regular closed-door meeting of the Standing Council on Social Concerted Action at the World Trade Centre Macau in Nape.
The Standing Council on Social Concerted Action, a government-appointed consultative body tasked with advising the government on its labour policies, consists of five business sector representatives and five labour representatives, as well as a number of government officials.
Monday’s meeting, which was chaired by Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong, was this year’s second plenary meeting of the council, where DSAL officials briefed business and labour representatives about the government’s final draft of its trade union bill.
Speaking to reporters, Wong underlined that the government drafted its trade union bill after studying the opinions and suggestions gathered during a 45-day public consultation, which was carried out late last year, while referencing the relevant legal systems in a number of neighbouring countries and regions, and considering the city’s current social situation, including the setting-up and operations of the city’s existing trade unions and other associations representing various types of employees.
Wong said that the bill proposes to regulate the composition, registration, operations, rights and obligations of trade unions.
Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Wong Chi Hong (centre), flanked by two DSAL officials, speaks to reporters at the World Trade Centre Macau in Nape after Monday’s plenary meeting of the government-appointed Standing Council on Social Concerted Action. – Photo courtesy of TDM
