Regional authorities have finalised the remaining report on the community session held for the city’s first Trade Union Legislation, with lots of views opposing the limitations proposed on the proper to hold strikes, the form of trade union associations that will be allowed, and the employment sectors covered.
The general public session on the Trade Union Regulation took put for a interval of 45 days, among Oct 31 and December 14, 2021.
Through the consultation time period, four clarification classes were being arranged and viewpoints were being collected from companies, personnel, the public, associations and educational corporations.
In addition, viewpoints and strategies from different sectors of modern society were broadly gathered as a result of the thematic web site, post business office, e-mail, fax and telephone with recorded messages, amid other indicates.
According to a assertion from the authorities, 2,653 sets of thoughts were being acquired, totalling 24,537 viewpoints and solutions.
About 55.3 for every cent of all opinions have been submitted by people, with 42 for each cent by associations and only 2.3 per cent by corporations
The Legislative Assembly had, prior to this federal government-led proposal turned down much more than 10 trade union expenses presented by legislators in excess of the past couple of years.
Through the consultation course of action, these constraints lifted some issues from labour associations and labour-linked legislators. Some of these opposing views were also reflected through the community consultation.
One particular of the issues that lifted opposition was the absence of the suitable to organise strikes by trade unions, though not considerably data was offered on this issue in the general public session report.
According to the report, some views submitted pointed out that the omission of the ideal to strike prospects to a “reduction in the rights and powers that need to be conferred on trade union associations” which really should be guaranteed in the Macau SAR Primary Regulation.
In the report, authorities respond that while the trad union law enshrines the ideal to organise strikes for local citizens considering the fact that the law is “completely new” it is necessary to progressively tell all included events, employers and staff and “gradually and orderly” advance trade union legislation.
The proposed union monthly bill includes limitations for professional sectors joined to the exercise of sovereign functions, which includes civil servants and other professions related to community solutions these types of as healthcare, transportation, and public utilities.
A big percentage of the views submitted about the scope of the law asked for for some of these four groups to be allowed to delight in the ideal for organising trade unions.
Having said that, in a response incorporated in the report, authorities stated that the cause that considering the fact that the providers supplied by all those staff include “social order” as nicely as community pursuits these as health and fitness and products and services in reaction to the primary requires of the inhabitants, it was important to be certain that these solutions “maintain constant operations”.
About 28 per cent of all viewpoints about the scope of the trade union law asked for for non-resident workers to also get pleasure from the right to organise union associations, something not allowed under the draft bill.
Regarding this make any difference, the Macau governing administration only mentioned that it “will think about the concrete scenario of the town and prudently have out an evaluation and analyze of these opinions”.
“Furthermore, there ended up also opinions that concentrated on the exemption from the software of that Legislation to workers from other specific sectors or the need to build ample restrictions for them, this kind of as personnel from gambling concessionaires, the tourism sector, instructing, among other people,” the report mentioned.
Nearly 97.5 for every cent of the views submitted were also versus allowing for only 3 styles of trade unions to be established, specifically sector union associations, professional union associations and trade union associations for businesses.
According to the proposal, this limitation was founded considering that “workers’ associations are created up of employees who operate in the very same sector or with the very same profession” even though only a few of them are manufactured up of workers from the same enterprise or from the very same entity.
The report states that some folks opposed the set up association types given that they could “include the probability of overlapping members”, which could make the associations’ operating “more intricate and not be favourable to collective bargaining amongst businesses and associations.
Thes opinions advised that the objective of the association and the skills of the members must be considered, and the association need to not be defined by a form limited by regulation.
Some even considered that by defining trade associations into a few forms, an employer will have to deal with when at the similar time a number of trade union associations or forms of associations, which could “cause an imbalance”.
Most thoughts – some 96 for every cent of the full – ended up also from a proposal that only in companies with a sure amount of workers, would workforce be permitted to represent trade unions, a evaluate that would exclude many SMEs from trade union legal rights.
Nevertheless, most also did not concur with the establishment of particular rules for smaller and medium-sized enterprises as they previously disagreed with the have to have for the will need to generate a precise “company trade union association” rather of a uniform collective bargaining mechanism.
“Others pointed out that there is at this time no social consensus or authorized provision in
concerning the definition of little and medium-sized enterprises, nor is there any specific regulation in other countries or regions on collective bargaining by little and medium-sized enterprises,” the report mentioned.
Authorities stated in the report that they will “fully and carefully” take into consideration the
thoughts regarding the varieties of trade union associations presented through the session interval in buy to produce the respective rules.
The invoice also does not make it possible for for strikes to be referred to as by unions when any provided labour group would have to have to depict at minimum 50 for each cent of the workers in a company right before the labour team could be recognised for bargaining needs.
In addition, only just one labour group would be officially recognised for every enterprise and any arrangement arrived at concerning a labour union and a respective employer ensuing from a collective negotiation process should be mechanically prolonged to the non-union customers utilized by the similar organization.
Practically 88 per cent of the views gathered opposed the need to outline a proportion for collective bargaining, arguing that this could have an impact on the efficiency of the trade union association’s part as a system and hurt the enhancement of harmonious labour relations.
Additional than fifty percent of the people who submitted viewpoints also opposed that the collective negotiation process should be immediately extended to the non-union members employed by the similar corporation, many without having conveying why but with some stating that this could go “against the will of these workers and consequence in injustices”.
Some residents also warned that currently, a number of workers’ associations currently exist ” some of which have much more than half a century of history” and that “play a favourable role in the institution of harmonious labour relations” and expected these associations could changeover to trade unions under the new regulation.
To this, the report responds that authorities that transitional provisions in conjunction with the current condition of existing workers’ associations will be authorized so that all those who wish to register as a trade union can do so.
“In conjunction with the tips offered in the consultation document and the views and tips gained throughout the session period of time, the Federal government will, relying on the real scenario of the MSAR, find a way to generate a legal technique of the Trade Union Regulation suited to the desires of Macau’s enhancement,” authorities pointed out.
On the other hand, some 98.7 for each cent of the viewpoints agreed that the membership and participation of community unions in the activities of intercontinental corporations should be monitored.
A very similar percentage also defended an inspection of the getting and use of funding for potential trade unions in Macau, with some warning of the risk of the impact of “external forces” for the practice of acts that could “harm the harmony and steadiness of Macau society”.
In reaction, the Macau government promised to make an inspection mechanism to reduce unions from signing up for “international organizations that are from their purpose” and to “ensure the legality” of funding these companies.
