The government announced yesterday that it is proposing to raise Macau’s statutory minimum wage to between 34 and 36 patacas per hour from the current 32 patacas an hour.
However, the government underlined yesterday that for the time being it does not have a timetable as to when the new statutory minimum wage could be implemented, pointing out that it would require amendments to the city’s minimum wage law.
Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Wong Chi Hong made the remarks while speaking to reporters 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 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 Lei Wai Nong.
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, have 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.
The overall minimum wage law requires the government to carry out its first review of the amount of the statutory minimum wage two years after its implementation, after which the government will have to review the amount every two years.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Wong said that the government has completed its first review of the minimum wage amount, which assessed the minimum wage’s implementation between November 1, 2020 and October 31, 2022.
According to Wong, 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.
Various factors
According to Wong, the government’s first review of the minimum wage assessed the city’s economic situation during the two-year period and the impact of the minimum wage’s implementation on employers and employees alike. The government has concluded that the current minimum wage could be raised after considering the review’s findings as well as the possible impact of a minimum wage hike on consumers and the performance of the city’s ongoing economic recovery, while striking the right balance between the impact of a minimum wage hike on the city’s business environment and the improved protection of workers’ rights and benefits, the labour chief said.
Based on all these factors, Wong said, the government is now proposing to raise the city’s statutory minimum wage to between 34 and 36 patacas per hour.
Wong said that the proposed minimum wage was estimated to benefit 21,800 to 32,400 workers.
Wong underlined that after consulting the labour and business sectors, his bureau will prepare and submit a report on its proposed minimum wage increase to Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng for review.
The labour chief also underlined that while for the time being the government does not have a timetable as to when the new minimum wage could get off the ground, it was aiming to complete drafting amendments to the city’s overall minimum wage law.
The government’s bill on the proposed minimum wage needs to be debated and passed by the Legislative Assembly (AL) in order to become law.
Remarks from labour & business reps
Also speaking to reporters after yesterday’s meeting, Fong Ka Fai, 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.
Fong, a vice-chairman of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions, commonly known as Gung Luen in Cantonese, said that the labour sector would also accept the government’s possible final decision to merely raise the minimum wage amount to 34 patacas an hour.
Also speaking to the media after the meeting, Vong Kok Seng, one of the council’s business representatives, said that while the business sector would be willing to comply with the government’s possible final decision to raise the city’s statutory minimum wage, he was worried that a minimum wage hike would raise businesses’ operational costs causing them to increase the prices of their goods or services, in which case, Vong insisted, the city’s inflation rate would increase, undermining consumers’ purchasing power.
Vong, a vice-president of the influential Macau Chamber of Commerce (ACM), urged the government to propose raising the city’s statutory minimum wage only by the “lowest possible amount” in order to minimise the possible impact on the business sector.
Flanked by two Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) officials, DSAL Director Wong Chi Hong talks to reporters at the World Trade Centre Macau in Nape yesterday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
