Residents’ union wants end of triple holiday pay

2012-02-02
From: Macau Daily Times

The ongoing revision of the labour law should include an end to mandatory triple pay on statutory holidays, the deputy director of the Macau General Union of the Neighbourhood Associations, Ho Ion Sang, said yesterday.
According to the current Labour Relations Law, which was enacted in 2008, full-time staff working on statutory holidays can receive compensation worth up to three-days pay. Restaurant owners often use this provision as justification to increase prices particularly during the Chinese New Year period.
As a result, Ho stressed, many local food shops were closed during the first three days of the Lunar New Year, celebrated last month. The ones that were open increased their prices by as much as 20 percent, the lawmaker added.
This is not good for the image of Macau as a world class tourism destination, the representative of the residents union, known as Kai Fong in Cantonese, told journalists on the sidelines of a media lunch organised by the Legislative Assembly.
The government has promised to start collecting views regarding the revision of the labour law in the first half of this year, after acknowledging that it does not meet the needs of the local job market.
Ho believes this is an opportunity to solve the triple pay problem. But asked about what changes should be introduced, he merely said a consensus should be reached either at the Standing Committee for the Coordination of Social Affairs or at the Legislative Assembly (AL).
But last December the head of the Labour Affairs Bureau, Sheun Ka Hung, said that the opinions of the representatives of employers and employees at the standing committee remain a great deal apart on the revision the labour law.
And the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (AGOM) is firmly against any change that jeopardise workers rights, the vice-president Kwan Tsui Hang emphasised yesterday. The triple pay [on statutory holidays] is not a new provision and it must remain in the labour law, she told journalists.
Last December another AGOM vice-president, Lam Heong Sang, said the labour law revision should not soften provisions on the right to rest, a monthly salary and payment of overtime work. There can be no step back on this, he urged.
Hotel prices

Ho Ion Sang also criticised the soaring room prices at local hotels and guesthouses during the Chinese New Year and called on the government to introduce new regulation to curb the phenomenon.
During the weeklong holidays in mainland China, from January 23 to 29, the average room rate at guesthouses rose by a staggering 28.1 percent from the same period of last year to almost MOP 560. On the other extreme, the prices at five-start hotels increased 9.1 percent to more than MOP 2,400.
Ho believes these prices are likely to scare off many tourists who would be interested in staying overnight in Macau. Last week another lawmaker, Angela Leong On Kei, also linked the illegal accommodation business to the lack of affordable rooms.
The Kai Fong representative believes authorities should impose restrictions on how much hotels can raise the room prices during Chinese New Year and other peak periods for tourism.
But Kwan Tsui Hang is against any regulation on hotel room prices. Its not desirable for the government to intervene in private business. Prices are high because there is a demand and a supply. Im confident the market will be able to introduce self-regulation, she said.
Despite soaring room prices, local hotels were busier than ever during Chinese New Year, with the average occupancy rate at three to five-star hotels growing by 4.6 points to 91.9 percent.
Land controversy

Kwan also said the AL Land and Public Concession Affairs Committee will call up government representatives to discuss the land swap deal with the former owner of the Seac Pai Van quarry, in Coloane, where a public housing complex with about 6,800 units is being built.
The deal led to accusations of collusion between the government and developers, with lawmakers regularly complaining that the premium paid by concessionaires of public land was too low.
The AL committee president wants the Administration to explain why the three plots, with a total of 32,342 square metres, involved in the swap were not put up for an open tender, according to the Macau legislation.
Last week the Chief Executive said the calculation formula for land premiums will be updated yearly to make sure it keeps up with the market situation. Fernando Chui Sai On also pledged to conclude the revision of the land law this year.
The AL committee will also urge authorities to speed up the changes to the land law, Kwan said. In addition, lawmakers want more information on the 48 undeveloped plots whose concession contracts have already expired and are at risk of being taken back, she added.
Also yesterday, the AL president Lau Cheoc Va singled out the land law as one of the bills that must be approved this year. There are some laws that, if their drafting is delayed, might have a bigger repercussion, he stressed.
Lau said that the land law is one of the bills whose urgency does not tolerate further delays.
Its a law that will deeply impact urban planning and the overall development of Macau, he added.
Food safety

Lau also called on the government to speed up the drafting of the food safety law, which is slated to reach the AL during the first half of this year, emphasising that it is all about the health of the population.
The final round of public consultation ended last month and the new law will make it possible for the Food Safety Centre, which was first announced in the 2008 Policy Address, to begin its operations.
On Tuesday the president of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), Raymond Tam Vai Man, assured that in the future the centre would also oversee take-away food shops.
Earlier this week in a government enquiry, Kwan Tsui Hang warned that take-away restaurants are currently exempt from the food safety regulation system. There is no need to request health licenses and permits and receive a regular supervision, she wrote.
Raymond Tam did not address the issue of whether or not the Food Safety Centre would license take-away shops.
Meanwhile Lau Cheoc Va rejected accusations that the AL is a mere rubber-stamp parliament. The different opinions and debate over legislation is a clear evidence of the contrary. It means laws have to go through a strict scrutiny according to the community interests, he said.
The lawmaker also stressed that the number of enquiries to the government has increased. Quantity aside, the quality [of enquiries] has also improved, he told journalists.

Copyright Macau Daily Times