The minimum wage for the city’s 11,800 cleaners, doormen and security guards employed by the property management sector will be set at 30 patacas an hour, according to a bill that the government will submit to the legislature for debate and vote soon.
The Executive Council (ExCo) – the government’s top advisory body – finished its discussion of the bill Thursday.
ExCo spokesman Leong Heng Teng told a press conference at Government House that the proposed wage was set by striking a balance between giving workers a living wage, the financial capability of employers to pay, the competitiveness and business environment of the city, and the statutory minimum wage regulations in jurisdictions elsewhere in the region.
The 30-pataca minimum wage, which would be equivalent to 240 patacas a day and 6,240 patacas a month, does not include over-time pay, year-end double pay or bonuses. The rate would be reviewed on a yearly basis.
Leong said that the minimum wage bill does not require any amendments to the Labour Relations Law.
According to Leong, the bill, which only applies to cleaners and doormen employed by the property management sector, would benefit about 11,800 workers, of which about 5,000 work for security companies, the remainder being doormen and cleaners.
The bill proposes that the statutory minimum wage would take effect 180 days after it is promulgated into law – provided that it is passed by the Legislative Assembly.
Leong said that depending on the situation, the government would gradually extend the minimum wage system to other sectors.
Macau is the only jurisdiction in China that still does not have a general minimum wage system. Mainland cities, Hong Kong and Taiwan all have statutory minimum wage regulations.
Macau is China’s richest city in terms of its gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.(macaunews/macaupost)
