Unions want retroactive effect: Civil staff wages to rise 6.45 pct

2012-03-15
From: Macau Daily Times

The salaries of civil servants will increase by 6.45 percent this year, according to a proposal that yesterday got the backing of the Executive Committee. But the wage rise will not be retroactively applied. The wage index will increase by MOP 4 to MOP 66, which means that, for instance, a worker making MOP 6,200 will see its salary grow to MOP 6,600. In the other extreme, the wage of the Chief Executive will reach almost MOP 231,800.
A 6.45 percent increase was the higher of the two alternatives proposed by the Committee of Deliberation on the Remuneration of Public Administration Workers last month. Its just about in the middle of the range of what we consider acceptable, the head of the Chinese Civil Servants Association, Monie Kuok Sok Wa, told Macau Daily Times. The president of the Macau Civil Servants Association, Joseacute Pereira Coutinho is also happy with the increase, stressing that the initial proposal was for 3.5 percent.
The decision was based on several factors, Executive spokesperson Leong Heng Teng told journalists, including the 7.5 percent increase to the median wage in the private sector registered last year.
But this rise has not impacted all economic sectors the same way, he conceded. In some industries wage growth has reached two-digits while for positions where lower qualifications are required the evolution has been very different. And the spokesperson added that, with several companies announcing wage rises for this year, there might be a trend of salary update in the private sector. Several gaming operators have already increased workers wages so far in 2012 and the possible drain of human resources from the Administration was one of the factors assessed, he said.
In addition, Leong also admitted that high inflation 6.8 percent in January has been eating at public servants purchasing power. A salary update can somewhat guarantee Public Administration workers real income, he said. Last month economist Albano Martins admitted that a raise of 4.9 percent the initial proposal would bring back the salary level from the beginning of 2000. But he said the government should increase wages by at least 10 percent in order to give more purchasing power to public workers.

Battle brewing

Leong confirmed that the wage increase will not be retroactively applied. Public servants have had their wages updated four times since the handover, always with retroactive effect. We believe this is the most adequate way to respond, the spokesperson said. If we were to introduce it [wage rise] with retroactive effect it might be unfair to some civil servants.
But both public workers associations disagree, with Kuok stressing that inflation reached a three-year high in January. Coutinho described the decision as a cold shower that damages the morale of workers who legitimately expected retroactive effects.
Kuok pledged to lobby lawmakers over this issue. Coutinho, also a lawmaker, told MDTimes he was confident the retroactive effect would get the support from all directly elected AL members just 12 of the 29 lawmakers. The draft law will be sent to the Legislative Assembly (AL) immediately and Leong hopes lawmakers will give this proposal the right treatment. But, he quickly added, the government will not submit the bill to the AL in an urgent procedure.
The increase will come into effect on the first day of the month after it is published on the Official Gazette. Despite the uncertainty over when that might be, the Administration believes it will spend an extra MOP 700 million – adding to MOP 13.9 billion – this year, which will not impact the stability of the regions financial situation, said Leong.
Last month the secretary for Administration and Justice, Florinda Chan, said she was very optimistic that public workers would see a remuneration growth in the first half of this year.

Copyright Macau Daily Times