41
—more than the 10 per-cent predicted by gaming operators—Chan believes that try: “When the market conditions change
secretary Francis Tam. young professionals can fit in at the mid- they can reopen the quota system and in-
Martins also believes this package of dle rank of the hotel and entertainment vite in more foreign workers. No govern-
new policies contradicts the message of business. ment should have a restrictive policy for
tolerance and calm preached by chief ex- He says: “So if the prediction of a too long, it’s not a wise decision.”
ecutive Edmund Ho Hau-wah in his last one or two year economic downturn is Unlike Martins, Chan believes that
visit to Legislative Assembly. correct, this will give plenty time for a limited supply of foreign workers in
local young people to mature and when Macau will not be a burden on foreign in-
A step in the right direction? they finish university they can fill the vestors because they will wait and see if
new vacancies,’’ he says. the market should be expanded or not.
Sunny Chan, coordinator of the Pub- Chan adds that the growth in foreign They have already “built a kingdom
lic Administration programme at Macau investment in Macau was “too fast” and in Macau”, he says, a kingdom that will
Polytechnic Institute, takes a completely “unhealthy”. continue operating “fine”, allowing them
different view but concedes that as in- He says of the construction indus- to make money.
vestment slows, the measures might not
affect things that much in the business
sector because the demand for labour
will decrease.
However, Chan is convinced the
government’s policy is adequate and can
help. He says it should be accompanied
by “some special considerations and
some exceptional rules” to help SMEs.
He believes the current economic
crisis will only deepen and society is
destined for a rough ride - especially
those on low incomes and the working
class, he says.
The Hong Kong SAR has decided to
launch a minimum wage policy “to make
workers feel better”, he says.
In Macau, on the other hand, the
government “took very fast action” by
announcing the labour importation re-
strictions also in order to ease the work-
ing class. “It was a way to tell them that
when the downturn comes, they will be
first in the queue.’’
Chan says: “The Government wants
to minimise political instability among
working class people.’’
However, he doesn’t see this inter-
vention as a mere response to the many
appeals from local associations but sees
it is a “preventive action” based on the
state of the economy.
The focus should now go into diver-
sifying the economy, perhaps into the
field of the creative industries.
Chan believes the measures will
have an effect on the property market
too. As foreign workers start to leave the
city, apartments will empty – high rented
ones, as well as others. And, as the de-
mand for houses decreases, the property
market might also decline and agents will
have to “adjust”.
In terms of local people being quali-
fied enough to fill certain jobs – for ex-
ample, supervising positions with the
december 2008
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