The government should come up with a timetable to amend the Labour Relations Law concerning employees’ holiday entitlements and paternity leave, lawmaker-cum-unionist Ella Lei Cheng I said on Sunday.
Lei made the remarks on the sidelines of a two-month 2017 Union Day campaign, which started on sunday, organised by the Macau Federation of Trade Unions, at Macau Kung Luen Vocational & Technical Middle School.
The federation is widely known as Gung Luen (also spelt Kung Luen) in Cantonese.
Pointing out that the members of the business and labour sectors on the government-appointed Standing Council on Social Concerted Action expressed their opinions on the possible revision of the Labour Relations Law during a regular meeting last month, Lei said the government should come up with a timetable for the proposed amendments as soon as possible.
Giving the gradual implementation of the statutory minimum wage as an example, Lei urged the government to set a timetable to amend the Labour Relations Law, which would show the public that the government was determined to propose amendment to the law.
Any amendments proposed by the government will have to be submitted to the Legislative Assembly (AL) for debate and vote.
Lei said her federation had collected the signatures of about 20,000 residents supporting paternity leave and further holiday entitlements last year, adding that the federation had meanwhile sent the petition to the chief executive.
“The chief executive’s 2017 Policy Address states that the government plans to amend the Labour Relations Law,” Lei said. “[I] think [the government] should put them [new rules on paternity leave and further holiday entitlements] as its first priority.”
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
