The Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) launched a signature campaign against illegal employment yesterday, urging the government to combat illegal labour and other illegal employment situations by strengthening inspections and toughening penalties.
The federation held a press conference about the petition at the headquarters of the city’s largest trade union organisation in Patane yesterday. The open-ended campaign to collect residents’ signatures starts today.
Two lawmakers and seven labour union representatives from different industries, such as transport, construction and services, attended the press conference.
FAOM Deputy Managing Director and lawmaker Lei Cheng I said a police investigation into a recent traffic accident in which a young female scooter rider was killed in Cotai last month revealed that a non-resident worker from the mainland who was working illegally as a chauffeur had probably caused the accident, adding that non-resident workers engaged in work outside their officially approved job description and the employment of illegal workers continues to exist.
Illegal drivers
A Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) report in 2017 pointed out that 154 illegal professional drivers were fined, but only four of their employersfaced additional penalties for employing them, Lei noted.
The employment of non-local professional drivers such as chauffeurs and lorry drivers is banned by the government.
Lei added that employers currently face a fine of between 5,000 and 10,000 patacas for each non-resident worker illegally engaged in work outside his or her officially approved job description. The government can also choose to impose an additional penalty, such as withdrawing some or all of the existing non-resident worker quotas that have been granted to such an employer, and not allowing the respective employer to apply for any additional non-resident worker quotas for a period of between six months and two years, Lei pointed out.
Low fines
Lei said that many employers did not care about the low fines because their income gained from illegal employment situations hugely exceeds the cost of paying the penalties. She suggested that illegal employers should face heavier penalties or even criminal charges as a way of strengthening their deterrent effect.
Lei said such illegal situations were not only common in the transport sector but also in the construction industry. The federation’s member unions have also received many complaints from the hotel, catering and gaming industries about illegal employment situations, Lei added.
According to Lei, the 2017 DSAL report noted that 507 employers and employment agencies were fined for violating the “Law for the Employment of Non-resident Workers” and the “Regulation on Prohibition of Illegal Work”, involving fines that totalled 5.4 million patacas, and each case was fined 10,799 patacas on average.
FAOM Deputy Managing Director-cum-lawmaker Lei Cheng I addresses yesterday’s press conference about the labour federation’s anti-illegal employment petition at its headquarters in Patane. Photo: Rachel Lei
