Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - China - Macau Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1999)

Other comments on C088

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the observations made by the representative organizations of workers, communicated together with the Government’s report. It nevertheless notes that the Government does not name the workers’ organizations concerned.

Articles 1–5 and 11 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes that the Employment Agency Activity Law (No. 16/2020), developed in consultation with the social partners, came into effect on 15 March 2021. The Law regulates fee charging and nonfee charging private employment agencies and imposes stricter regulations on their license issuance and licence renewal. It also introduces the employment service guides system and improves the charging scale and penalty system for private employment agencies. The Labour Affairs Bureau (the Bureau) is mandated to monitor compliance with the Law. In their observations, the workers’ organizations indicate that the Government has introduced improvements through Law No. 16/2020 and the employment service guides, which have improved the overall employment service system. They add that the Government actively collaborates with non-profit private employment agencies and companies to further optimize the job-matching service through job fairs and information sessions. They nevertheless indicate that the efficiency of the job matching service introduced by the Government could be improved by strengthening its collaboration with non-profit PEAs and associations by introducing career planning and other projects. The Government also refers to the adoption of Administrative Regulation No. 12/2016 on the Organization and Operation of the Labour Affairs Bureau, pursuant to which the Human Resource Office and the Bureau, were merged in order to optimize the performance of the public employment service (PES). The Government reports that the Bureau continues to fulfil its mandate to achieve the goals of the employment policies listed under section 6 of the Framework Law on Employment Policy and Workers’ Rights (Law No. 3/98/M), which include: promoting sustainable economic development and social justice; achieving and maintaining full employment; encouraging improvements in labour skills and promoting vocational training; assisting the unemployed and strengthening the participation of the social partners in implementing employment policies. The Bureau collaborates with public departments and private entities, including non-fee charging private employment agencies and is responsible for promoting local employment, organising the operation of public employment agencies and the licencing and monitoring of private employment agencies. With regard to the public employment service, the Bureau is mandated to provide free-of-charge public employment services to citizens of the MSAR. The Committee notes with interest that, during the reporting period, the Government has established one new public employment office at the Labour Affairs Bureau headquarters and increased the number of agency service points from three to nine. In addition, the Bureau handled 104,930 employment registrations for 84,418 local jobseekers, and 242,684 employment referrals for 67,825 local jobseekers, with 15,289 people successfully employed. As of October 2017, the Bureau has introduced the “Online Job Matching Platform” service to streamline the policy and improve the public employment support services. The Government indicates that, following the COVID-19 crisis, the unemployment rate, increased from 2.3 per cent in 2019 to 4 per cent in the first quarter of 2021. Accordingly, the Bureau provided additional employment support services and launched promotional activities, such as sector-specific job-matching sessions and job fairs, to facilitate access to the labour market for workers, particularly for young persons, older workers and persons with disabilities. The Government also provides information on measures taken to promote the employment of groups in vulnerable situations. In this respect, the Government refers to various measures implemented to promote youth employment, including the introduction of Internship Programmes for university graduates. In 2020, 568 graduates were placed in internship programmes with companies, out of which 199 were recruited at the end of their internship. Regarding the employment of older persons, the Government indicates that promotional schemes and services are provided to promote the employment of older persons, including an “employment priority counter” which assists persons aged 65 or above and has successfully placed 328 older persons in employment during the reporting period. The Government further indicates that the Bureau continues to provide employment support services to persons with disabilities, organizing three job-matching events from 2018 to 2020 aimed at providing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that social partners are given the opportunity to comment on the activities of public employment services either through their representatives on the platform of the Society for Community Organization or by directly submitting their suggestions to the Bureau. With respect to the activities of the Standing Committee for the Coordination of Social Affairs (Law No. 59/97/M), the Committee refers to its comments on the application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact and effectiveness of the support services and promotional activities provided by the employment services to ensure access to decent work and sustainable employment for persons belonging to disadvantaged groups, such as young persons, persons with disabilities and older workers. In respect of the Internship Programme available to young graduates, and noting that more than half of those participating were not recruited at the end of their internships, the Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the Programme, including on the length of internships, whether they are paid or unpaid, the level of payment and whether there are restrictions on the number of different internships in which an individual may participate. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the nature, extent and impact of cooperation between the public employment services and private employment agencies on improving job opportunities and labour productivity. The Government is also requested to continue to provide detailed updated information on cooperation with the social partners, including concrete examples of their involvement in the organization and operation of the employment service through the Labour Affairs Bureau.