18,200 workers to benefit from one-pataca rise
The government has finished drafting a bill that proposes to raise Macau’s statutory minimum wage by one pataca an hour to 35 patacas per hour from the current 34 patacas, representing an increase of 2.94 percent.
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 – equivalent to 256 patacas a day, 1,536 patacas a week, or 6,656 patacas a month –before the amount was raised to the current 34 patacas an hour – equivalent to 272 patacas a day, 1,632 patacas a week, or 7,072 patacas a month –on January 1 of last year, an increase of 6.25 percent.
The bill was announced by Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak, the new spokesman for the government’s Executive Council, during a press conference at Government Headquarters on Friday. He said that the council, the government’s top advisory body, has completed its discussion of the bill’s final draft proposing amendments to the city’s overall minimum wage law.
Wong took office as the government’s secretary for Administration and Justice on October 16, succeeding André Cheong Weng Chon, who became the Legislative Assembly’s (AL) president on that day. Cheong was appointed last month by Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai to the legislature’s new four-year term, which started on October 16, when he was elected by his peers as the hemicycle’s speaker during a plenary session. Correspondingly, Sam also appointed Wong as a member of the Executive Council and its spokesman, succeeding Cheong, effective from October 16.
Friday’s press conference was the first one that Wong chaired in his capacity as the spokesman for the government’s Executive Council. During the press conference, Wong expressed confidence in his ability to fulfil the new role, pledging a commitment to continuously familiarise himself with the responsibilities.
The amendment bill announced on Friday has been submitted to the Legislative Assembly, which will schedule a plenary session for the debate and vote on its outline. If the outline is passed during the upcoming, still unscheduled plenary session, the amendment bill will be passed to one of the legislature’s standing committees for an article-by-article review, after which it will be resubmitted to another plenary session for its second and final debate and article-by-article vote.
The amendment bill proposes to raise the statutory minimum wage to 35 patacas an hour – equivalent to 280 patacas a day, 1,680 patacas a week, or 7,280 patacas a month – effective from January 1 next year. 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, assessing the 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. The current minimum wage of 34 patacas an hour has been in force since January 1 of last year.
During the press conference, Wong noted that the government completed its second review of the minimum wage amount earlier this year, which assessed the implementation between November 1, 2022, and October 31, 2024. According to Wong, this review evaluated the city’s economic situation and labour market, as well as changes in employees’ overall salary levels and employers’ business operations during the two-year period.
Wong said that the government is now proposing to raise the city’s statutory minimum wage to 35 patacas per hour, an increase of 2.94 percent, after considering the review’s findings, consulting representatives from the labour and business sectors, and striking a balance between improved protection of workers’ rights and benefits and the potential impact of a minimum wage hike on the city’s business environment and consumers’ ability to adapt to price increases.
Wong also mentioned that the proposed minimum wage increase is estimated to benefit 18,200 workers, most of whom are employed in the property management and cleaning service sectors. After completing its second review of the minimum wage amount earlier this year, the government presented its proposal to representatives from the labour and business sectors during a meeting of the Standing Council on Social Concerted Action last month. During that meeting, it proposed raising the amount to between 35 and 37 patacas per hour, an increase of between 2.94 percent and 8.82 percent. The council is a government-appointed consultative body tasked with advising the government on its labour policies.
During Friday’s press conference, reporters enquired about the government’s final decision to propose raising the minimum wage by merely one pataca per hour to 35 patacas. Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Chan Un Tong replied that the proposed minimum wage of 35 patacas an hour would be a “moderate, appropriate” amount that could strike the right balance between the labour and business sectors. He emphasised that the protection of low-income workers could be improved while ensuring that businesses’ competitiveness would not be significantly impacted by the proposed one-pataca increase in the minimum wage.
Secretary for Administration and Justice Wong Sio Chak, the new spokesman for the government’s Executive Council, speaks during Friday’s press conference at Government Headquarters. – Photo courtesy of TDM
