Most workers in Macao were left idle when their company shut down during this summer’s massive Covid-19 outbreak, and many were required to take a pay cut or half-paid leave, a survey has found.
The Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) discovered that 78 per cent of 3,462 respondents said that their companies had suspended operations, 40 per cent said that they had been required to take half-paid leave and 37 per cent unpaid leave.
The survey was carried out last month when members of the union collected questionnaires from residents aged between 25 and 54, aiming to let civil society and the government know more about residents’ “real” situation.
Workers in gaming and entertainment, as well as other service sectors accounted for the majority.
The findings showed that among respondents who were told by their employers to take unpaid or half-paid leave, gaming industry workers said that their income declined “significantly”, while catering employees said that wage suspensions and under-capacity operations were “still very serious”, adding that their salaries were “generally” lower compared to other sectors in Macao, resulting in heavy financial pressure on them.
The findings also showed that about 52 per cent of the respondents said they thought that they would only be able to “barely” cover their basic living expenses, while their savings were only enough to get them through for about three to six months, with daily meals, rent or mortgage payments, charges for electricity, tap water and liquefied petroleum gas taking up most of their expenditure, apart from children’s education and financial support of their parents.
According to the findings, about 72 per cent of respondents said that their income in June had dropped by between nearly 20 per cent and 30 per cent year on year.
The findings noted that 57 per cent of the respondents said they believed that the main condition for improving the local employment situation was to resume “normal” cross-border travel conditions between mainland China and Macao by lifting the Covid-19-induced travel curbs as soon as possible.
Union representatives urged the government to put more resources into its e-consumption benefit scheme by giving another MOP 8,000 to each resident. They also urged the government to set up a mechanism to provide assistance to people whose jobs have been suspended by their companies, in order to strengthen the protection of labour rights and workers’ interests and ensure employees’ confidence.
The union added that since the recent Covid-19 outbreak, the whole labour market has changed, so employees need a basic protection mechanism which is clear, reasonable and legal.
In order to “better” target employees and the self-employed in need of upgrading their skills, the union urged the government to continue to optimise its vocational training policy while increasing the flexibility of its Subsidised Training Plan, The Macau Post Daily reported.
