SME against minimum wage

The Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Association is against the implementation of a minimum wage and has called for the end of quotas for imported labour.
In an interview with Portuguese-language newspaper Tribuna de Macau, the association vice-president, Daniel Iong, said that the main problem affecting local SMEs is lack of manpower and therefore slammed the mechanism of imported labour quotas imposed on local businesses.
He said that a citywide minimum wage makes no sense, not only because of the difficulties SMEs are facing, but also because he believes that “Macau will adopt the salary level of Hong Kong” in the future. He stressed that even though there is no minimum wage, workers’ salaries have been increasing.
The government is considering implementing a minimum wage for cleaning and building security industries. The University of Macau was selected to conduct a study for the wider implementation of the minimum wage for these two industries.
The businessmen also accused the government of having failed to forecast the development of SMEs five years ago. He said that back then the government should have made “plans to ensure companies would not find themselves in a difficult situation”.
Iong is very critical of the quotes on non-resident manpower, saying it is hampering the development of SMEs.

Labour imbalance

He said there is an abnormal phenomenon in the local labour market. According to the businessman there are some workers who earn more than they deserve, because, “for example, people who clean kitchens are cooking because cooks left the job”.
As a result, he added, the quality of service is dropping. Due to the imported labour quota system, he said, “locals feel superior to non-residents.” “Residents think that they are protected by an armour,” he stressed.
Moreover, Iong is expecting SMEs to experience more difficulties during this year. “The opening of another resort in Cotai [Sands Cotai Central], in the first half of this year, will lead undoubtedly to another flight of workers from the SMEs,” he said.
He sees a “structural imbalance” in the local market because of the “vicious” competition between big companies and SMEs. The businessman also forecasts a wage increase after the Chinese New Year that will also affect business.
To solve the problem, Iong suggested the creation of a fund to support SMEs. The government has only distributed grants, but that “only helps to smooth out the problems”, he said. He wants the Administration to help companies to export their products or to supplement the salaries they pay to workers.