MACAU: Unpaid overtime work prevalent amongst clerks, survey says

2013-7-22

From：Macau Daily Times

According to a trade union’s latest survey, unpaid overtime work is common amongst clerical workers, especially those in the financial sector, in which the employees generally have to shoulder 5 to 10 hours of uncompensated overtime work every week.
Yesterday, the General Association of Macau Clerical Employees held a seminar to discuss the problem of unpaid overtime that is prevalent in many sectors. Representatives of clerical workers from different industries attended the gathering to explore the causes of working overtime and measures to cope with the extra burden.
According to the association, the survey found that clerical workers in Macau generally have to work 1 to 2 hours of overtime every day. Although current laws require compensation for workers who stay longer than their official working hours and continue to discharge duties, the reality is that in many cases, most extra work is left unpaid.
The situation is especially serious in the financial sector – in banking and related trades. Representatives told the seminar that OT work is very common amongst clerical workers in this sector, because some banks require their employees to undergo training courses or to engage in promotional activities after they are released from the conventional working day.
Speakers in the gathering of frontline workers criticized employers for not paying workers for their overtime work toil, and said that while occasional extra hours are unavoidable, constant and long-term overtime work is creating a negative impact on the employees’ quality of life, including time in which to take care of families and for leisure. The trade union also mentioned the possible effect on relations between employers and employees, as well as on the efficiency of business operations.

Copyright@Macau Daily Times