Shuen Ka Hung: Unhappy migrants can go home

Migrants are still protesting against the six-month ban, but director of Labour Affairs Bureau says the Government will not change its mind

Director of the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Shuen Ka Hung told the Portuguese news agency Lusa that if migrant workers are not happy with Macau’s new imported labour policies, they can choose to go back to their home countries and try to start over in another place.
Shuen’s remarks left migrant worker’s representatives disappointed, but determined to keep fighting for their rights.
Reiterating the points he made to the Macau Daily Times in a recent interview, Shuen told Lusa that since the Law for the Employment of Non-Resident Workers came into force, migrant workers’ rights are better protected, because they can enjoy equal rights as resident workers.
Yet, he admitted that there is one exception. “[With the new law on imported labour], the rights and duties of non-residents are already well safeguarded, as they enjoy the same rights of residents, however they don’t have freedom to find jobs by themselves,” he stressed.

‘It looks like the Government is trying to pressure us to go away step by step to put more locals in our place,’ Cindry Poernasari stressed

Shuen was mentioning the six-month ban, which still stirs controversy amongst the local migrant communities. The number 2 of Article 4 of the new law allows the SAR Government to refuse to issue a new stay permit to non-resident workers within a period of six months, unless the contract is terminated without just case.
That means if the non-resident worker wants to change to a better job, he or she will first have to wait for six months before coming back to Macau.
Recently, two migrant workers concern groups demanded the DSAL seriously consider the scrapping of the six-month ban in its review, but the official totally rejected that chance.
“If the [migrant] worker feels that the conditions offered by the employer are not adequate or if he/she is being mistreated, they can always go back to their country and try to get another job,” he pointed out.

‘Ridiculous’ remarks

“It’s too ridiculous,” Cindry Poernasari from Peduli Indonesian Migrant Workers Concern Group said to MDT. She continued: “Of course we are free to find another job, but at the same time with the six-month ban the Government gives us no choice to observe it.”
At the end of the day, according to Poernasari, migrants have no freedom at all, because unless their contracts are terminated without just cause they have no choice and the only thing they can do is go back to their country.
“With the six-month ban we don’t really have a choice. It looks like the Government is trying to pressure us to go away step by step to put more locals in our place,” she said.
However, Poernasari, an Indonesian domestic helper, said that Macau needs the non-resident workers. “It’s not fair. Local people really need us, so why put us under more pressure if the market really need us?” she questioned.
Chairperson of the Overseas Filipino Workers Association Migrante – Macau, Catalina Yamat, argued that the six-month ban leaves the workers unprotected and subject to the employer’s will. “It isn’t good for us. It’s good only for employers,” she said.
Indeed, she added, workers can go back home if they do not agree with Macau’s policies, but that means that the Government is not recognising the non-resident’s contribution. “We are not against the local people nor are we in Macau to make bad things, we just need the job,” she stressed.
Aside from being worried about the future, Yamat, a Filipino domestic helper, is sure that Macau will continue to import manpower. “Macau is still hiring migrant workers and I’m happy for them, but they cannot stay long,” she said.
Macau Migrante is still deciding what to do next, in order to pressure the Government to change its mind and scrap the six-month ban, while Peduli’s strategy is to get protection just by learning every detail in the law.

Minimum wage may be extended to non-residents

Non-resident workers may be entitled to the minimum wage if it is approved in Macau, director of the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Shuen Ka Hung was quoted as saying by Portuguese news agency Lusa. However, he emphasised that it is uncertain whether or not it will cover all industries.
Discussions on the minimum wage will kick off at the next meeting of the Standing Committee for the Coordination of Social Affairs. Shuen recently revealed that the Government is expecting employers and employees to reach a consensus in 2011.
Asked if the minimum wage will also cover the imported manpower, Shuen said “the Labour Law spells out equal wages for everyone and the employer must comply with this rule”.
In Hong Kong, the minimum wage does not cover domestic workers, and DSAL’s director stressed that this option may “bring problems, because the countries that export labour may say it’s unfair”. Nevertheless, he added that the Government would have to consider whether or not the minimum wage would include all economic sectors.
“For instance, [in the case of] domestic workers, whose average salary is MOP 2,000, some associations wouldn’t be satisfied if the minimum wage will push the salaries up to MOP 4,000 or 5,000,” he stressed.