Demand for higher dismissal payouts

2012-03-06
From: Macau Daily Times
Lawmaker Lee Chong Cheng has urged the government to review the current maximum compensation limit for workers dismissed by employers without just cause, saying the current level adopted 15 years ago is no longer reasonable today. In a written enquiry, Lee pointed out that the current compensation scheme, established in 1997, allowed a maximum compensation for employees sacked without just cause an amount equivalent to 12 months salary and to be eligible for the compensation, their monthly income should not exceed MOP140,00. But Lee pointed out that through the years of inflation and economic advancement, about 30 percent of local workers (up to the forth quarter last year) already have a monthly salary over MOP15,000, which means that over 10,000 workers would be ineligible for the severance payment if they were fired without just cause. Lee says that when the previous limit was set in 1997, the medium income of Macau salary-earners was MOP5,221, and those workers having monthly income over MOP15,000 accounted for less than 10 percent of the total workforce, which meant over 90 percent of workers were entitled to the maximum compensation if sacked. Given the current medium income of MOP11,000, more than 30 percent of the workforce, or over 10,000 workers now do not qualify for the maximum compensation. The lawmaker said it is unreasonable for the compensation ceiling to remain unchanged for more than a decade after the medium income has almost doubled through the years. Lee urged the authority to adjust the maximum severance fee in accordance with the salary increase in the past 15 years, or even scrap the ceiling so that laid off employees could obtain a remuneration even higher that 12 months of salary, depending on how long they served the employer and the terms and conditions of their contracts.

Copyright Macau Daily Times