To avoid increased salary expenses resulting from the implementation of the new labor law, many companies in Macau have been signing new labor contracts with their employees, with the aim of lowering basic salaries and reducing overtime payments.
Macau's new labor law, which is effective from the last week of December 2008, states that employers should pay their employees double-time for voluntary overtime and five-times the basic rate if they are obliged to work overtime.
It is reported in local media that due to the global financial crisis, many gaming companies in Macau have begun to reduce the salaries of their employees. It is believed that this is a trend that many small and medium sized enterprises in the region will follow.
