Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Workmen's Compensation (Accidents) Convention, 1925 (No. 17) - Macau Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1999)

Article 5 of the Convention. Compensation in the form of periodical payments in the event of permanent incapacity. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to indicate how the form of payment of the compensation to injured workers is determined in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 40/95/M of 14 August 1995. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that there are no legal provisions determining whether the compensation shall be paid in a lump sum or periodically in the event of death or permanent incapacity. The Government indicates that the amount of the compensation is determined by the court and paid in a lump sum by the liable entity. Recalling that Article 5 of the Convention authorizes the payments in a lump sum only when the competent authority is satisfied that it will be properly utilized, the Committee asks the Government to take the necessary measures so as to ensure full conformity with this provision of the Convention.

Article 6. Waiting period. The Committee notes that, in response to its previous request concerning the waiting period for the payment of the first compensation, the Government indicates that the provision of section 52 of Decree-Law No. 40/95/M, as amended by Law No. 6/2015, provides that the amount of the benefit is calculated as from the date of receiving the supporting documents for the incapacity for work. The Committee asks the Government to confirm that, in practice, an injured worker will be paid compensation not later than, as from the fifth day after the accident, as required by Article 6 of the Convention, despite the reception of the supportive documents at a later date.

Article 7. Additional compensation for the constant help of another person. The Committee noted in its previous comments that, in case of permanent incapacity, section 48 of Decree-Law No. 40/95/M provides an additional payment equivalent to 50 per cent of the received lump sum where work-related permanent incapacity is such that the employee needs constant assistance from another person, while in case of temporary incapacity, under section 14 of the same Decree-Law, an injured employee who needs constant assistance from another person is only entitled to the payment of transport costs for the accompanying person. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that it will continue to examine the compensation system of work accidents and occupational diseases. The Committee encourages the Government to take measures to also provide for additional compensation for victims of work accidents suffering temporary incapacity.

The Committee has been informed that, based on the recommendations of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group (SRM TWG), the Governing Body has decided that member States for which the Convention is in force should be encouraged to ratify the more recent Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 [Schedule I amended in 1980] (No. 121), and/or the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), and accept the obligations in its Part VI, as these represent the most up-to-date instruments in this subject area. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to follow up the Governing Body’s decision at its 328th Session (October–November 2016) approving the recommendations of the SRM TWG and to consider ratifying Convention Nos 121 and/or 102 (Part VI) as the most up-to-date instruments in this subject area.