Macau (MNA) – Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam revealed during a meeting with a migrant worker association this Thursday he will review a proposed increase of childbirth bill.
The Secretary is holding meetings with two migrant workers associations today to consult their opinions on a recent proposal by the Health Bureau to increase current prices for delivery in the city’s public hospital, with different prices defined for workers and visitors.
A meeting in the morning was held with Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, with the association head Yosa Yanti telling Macau News Agency (MNA) the Secretary said he will review the proposal, especially for migrant workers.
Yanti later confirmed to MNA that the Secretary said during the meeting “he will try” to cap the increase at a maximum of three times the current fee offered to residents, instead of the nine time increase previously proposed by the Health Bureau.
Another meeting will be held at 4:30pm with the Greens Philippines Migrant Workers Union (GPMWU), with the association having revealed to MNA the open letter it will deliver to the Secretary.
In the letter, organisation chairperson Benedicta T. Palcon asks the Secretary that a foreign workers anti-discrimination law should be implemented in the Macau SAR, since ‘discrimination practices’ towards non-resident workers are ‘too evident.’
Currently, the labour relations law in the MSAR states no worker should suffer discrimination due to his or her nationality.
As an example of discriminatory polices, Ms. Palcon mentioned the proposals to increase fares on public buses for non-residents; changing bus cards issued to commuters to identify locals from non-resident workers; and the recent childbirth fee increase.
The hospital bill proposal would lead to an increase in childbirth delivery bills from MOP975 for a normal delivery to MOP8,775, and from MOP1,950 for a caesarian operation to MOP17,500.
‘We request for consideration not implementing the increase. These amounts are too high compared to the fees that non-resident workers were paying before,’ Ms. Palcon mentioned in the letter. ‘It is a big burden for a non-resident family whose income is very low and is not even enough to sustain their daily needs, much [less] the burden of paying exorbitant hospital fees for their expected babies.’
The GPMWU head also noted that childbirth fees, like admittance fees to hospital due to natural diseases, are not included in the insurance policies purchased by employers, thus they are not reimbursed to non-resident workers.
The association also stated to the Secretary that other policies in the city lead migrant workers to ‘stay hostage inside abusive labour conditions’ by capitalising on their vulnerability’ and ‘discourage’ them from seeking redress and just compensation.
‘Migrants/Non-resident workers […] play a big role in Macau society – from the economic, to social, to cultural and environment […]. We hope that all the things that were specified will be reviewed and given proper revision and practice,’ the letter adds.
[Edited by Sheyla Zandonai]
[Updates add paragraph four with comments from Yanti about Secretary’s proposal during meeting]
