The law establishing a minimum wage for security guards and cleaners
working for property management companies was approved in general terms
by the AL and will now be subject to a detailed analysis and new vote.
“This is a positive step,” Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam
remarked during the parliamentary debate conclusion, when he argued for
no need for further consultation (the usual argument used by the local
lawmakers when they want to stall a legislative process) and stated that
the law is the first step toward a universal minimum wage.
Under the new legislation, a minimum wage of MOP30 per hour or a minimum
monthly salary of MOP6,240 is set. The amount is subject to annual
review and can be adjusted according to economic conditions.
As expected, lawmakers opposed to a minimum wage used many demagogical
arguments during the debate at the AL. Some of them raised inflationist
fears and asked how the SMEs would cope if they were to pay an increased
wage. Others even claimed that the legislation could cause “social
conflict,” since not all workers benefit. The champion of bad taste was
Fong Chi Keong, who asked the government not to rely on studies made by
universities. He used an old Chinese proverb to illustrate why: “Most of
the scholars are liars,” he said. He went on to say that there are
“different levels of people” in society and that some of them are
satisfied by eating a loaf a day.
Fong Chi Keong is a lawmaker appointed by the Chief Executive. In the
previous legislature he was already famous for his coarse remarks. In
many parliaments around the world, such statements would be taken for
what they are: classism, or discrimination on the basis of a social
class, perhaps even on the basis of a different race.
Mr Fong’s allusion to scholars sounds like an invitation for ignorance
and arbitrary decision-making. However, the CE appointed him, hence I
suppose that Chui Sai On thought that the lawmaker could contribute to
the political debate…
The resistance to introduction of a minimum wage shows how local society
is extremely conservative and lacks community values. Many here think
it’s every man for himself.
The World Bank has just revealed that Macau has overtaken Switzerland to
become the world’s fourth richest territory per person. The region
recorded a per capita gross domestic product of USD 91,376 in 2013,
behind Luxembourg, Norway and Qatar. I’m well aware that this is an
average and most of the money stays in a few gaming hands, but when a
society can afford to use prestige cars as utilitarian vehicles it also
should be able to pay a reasonable minimum wage.
In Switzerland, where unemployment is almost nonexistent (like in
Macau), the minimum wage is not written into law, but collective
bargaining agreements between workers and employers cover almost the
entire population, implying that the minimum salary of skilled workers
ranges from 2,800 to 5,300 Swiss francs (MOP25,000 to 47,400), while
that of unskilled workers is between 2,200 to 4,200 Swiss francs
(MOP16,670 to 37,550.) In a recent referendum, they discussed the
establishment of a unique minimum wage equivalent to MOP 36,000. The
proposal was rejected. It would have been the highest minimum wage in
the world.
I’m not saying that we could have a salary like this in Macau (you
wish!) but we must give some thought to whether it is sustainable –
human, even – to pay as little as MOP2,500 to domestic helpers who take
care of our families and perform an essential job, allowing many locals
to keep the balance between home and work. The government can’t turn a
blind eye to the issue by using the simplistic reasoning that those low
paid workers are legally speaking “non-residents.”
If the workers’ condition isn’t improved we are not so far from the
black workers’ ordeal under the apartheid regime, as described in a book
by Melanie Verwoerd, an Afrikaner who turned against the system: “They
[black township workers] had no formal hours and had to be on call 24
hours a day. Their average salary was less than R200 per month, and if
anything broke, it was deducted from their pay. They rarely had leave.
(…) They had to send their baby away to their family in the rural areas –
they rarely saw them afterwards – while they were raising the white
family’s children. I was appalled. It was the early 1990s, not the
1700s!”
Rings a bell?
(PB,
published in MDT)
Etiquetas: Crónica, Macau
