News

Consumer Council released its latest specific price survey on canned foods. Survey result showed that price differences recorded for the same brand sold at different retail outlets ranged from 6.5 percent to the highest 38.8 percent. Consumer Council collected prices of 11 brands of canned food from 20 retail outlets on 7th March. In comparison with January's survey, prices of 6 brands remained unchanged and price differences recorded for the same canned food brand sold at different retail outlets ranged from the lowest 6.5 percent to the highest 38.8 percent. A general price discrepancy of almost 10 percent to 20 percent was recorded for most surveyed canned food brands. In the current survey, the greatest price difference of 38.8 percent was recorded in 'Ma Ling Premiun Ham Luncheon Mear/340g', which was sold at $16.5 to $22.9, with a difference of $6.4. Survey result also showed that selling prices of some surveyed products in branches under the same supermarket chain were slightly different. Consumers are advised to check with the survey data to make price comparisons. The specific price survey on canned foods is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. .
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Owing to tropical cyclone in Western Australia (Broome, Dampier, Derby, Fitzroy Crossing, Halls Creek, Karratha, Kununurra, Marble Bar, Nullagine, Port & South Hedland, Roebourne, Wickham and Wyndham) and flooding in Queensland, Macao Post announced that all mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packets, Parcels and EMS) from Macao to Western and Queensland of Australia are subject to delay until further notice.
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Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) holds two sessions of Retail Service Trainer Workshop for managers and supervisors of the retail industry to equip them with high-quality customer service skills. By enhancing service quality, it is expected to create a friendly tourism environment in harmony and contribute to building Macau into a "World Centre of Tourism and Leisure". The workshop held last year received the support and active participation from the retail industry, so this year MGTO continues to organize two sessions of "Achieving Total Customer Satisfaction" Retail Service Trainer Workshop during March 12-13 and April 16-17 respectively. The topics of each two-day workshop include The Role of the Manager/Supervisor as a Trainer/Coach, Requirements for Professionalism, Total Customer Satisfaction Concept, System Approach to Effective Retails Service Training, Practical Demonstration of Retail Training Skills, etc, which will be lectured by the trainers from an international management development company through interactive learning method. MGTO hopes that after providing the professional training to retail shop managers and supervisors, they can master practical quality customer service skills and transfer the skills to their frontline staff, thus eventually enhancing the total service quality of the retail industry. MGTO has committed to advocate Macau's warm hospitality, and by organizing training workshops to boost the service quality of tourism industry, it is believed to strengthen the image of Macau as a tourist destination.
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Macao Post announced that the postal facilities previously affected by noxious fumes in Jamaica have resumed operations, mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packets and Parcels) from Macao to Jamaica have returned to normal.
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Consumer Council released its latest specific price survey on rice. Survey result showed that prices of rice remained stable, only 1 out of the 15 surveyed products recorded a change in price and price differences recorded for the same product sold at different outlets ranged from 1 to 22 percent. Consumer Council collected prices of 15 brands of rice from 21 retail outlets on 5th March. In comparison with data from January, prices of rice remained stable as only 'Golden Elephant Brand Premium Jasmine Rice/8kg' recorded a price increase of 5.1 percent at one retail outlet. Price differences ranged from 1 to 22 percent were recorded in the current survey. 'Tsing Ling Gi" Thai Hom Mali Rice/10kg', which was sold at $124.0 to $151.0, differed for 21.77 percent; 'Wing On Thai Jasmine Rice/5kg' and 'Japanese Variety Pearl Rice/5kg' both recorded price discrepancies of over 15 percent. Consumers are advised to check with the survey data to make price comparisons. The specific price survey on rice is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. For inquiry, please call 8988 9315.
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The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released survey results of Manpower Needs and Wages of the Gaming Sector for the fourth quarter of 2012. Survey coverage excludes junket promoters and junket associates. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, the Gaming Sector had 54,835 employees, up by 9.2% year-on-year. An analysis by occupation indicated that 23,895 were dealers, an increase of 6.9%, and 14,696 were hard & soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc., up by 8.9%. In December 2012, average earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) of full-time employees reached MOP18,040, up by 7.9% year-on-year. Average earnings amounted to MOP15,990 for dealers, MOP21,890 for hard & soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc. and MOP12,180 for casino & slot machine attendants, security guards, surveillance room operators, etc., up by 8.8%, 5.4% and 11.4% respectively year-on-year. Job vacancies totalled 2,144 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, down by 130 year-on-year. There were 1,209 vacancies for dealers, down by 295. Hard & soft count clerks, cage cashiers, pit bosses, casino floorpersons, betting service operators, etc., had 393 vacant posts, an increase of 195. In terms of recruitment prerequisites, 68.6% of the vacancies required working experience; 63.2% required junior secondary and 23.3% required senior secondary education. Besides Cantonese, other preferred language skills were Mandarin (92.4%) and English (85.2%). A total of 2,838 new employees were hired in the fourth quarter of 2012, and the employee recruitment rate stood at 5.3%, down by 5.5 percentage points year-on-year. Decrease in the employee turnover rate (3.8%) and the job vacancy rate (3.8%), by 2.8 and 0.6 percentage points respectively, indicated that human resources of the Gaming Sector were more stable compared with 2011.
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To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre', Consumer Council releases a commemorative envelope that will be distributed to public, together with commemorative postmark cancellation service, at Macao Post Headquarters on 12th March. 'Consumer Arbitration Centre' was established on 12th March 1998 and aims to solve consumer disputes that are more controversial and complicated through the provision of intermediary services, mediation and mediation. Services provided at the Arbitration Centre are free, fast and confidential. Arbitration has become a trend to solve disputes nowadays as mediation provides a channel to both parties for better communication and alleviates emotions of both parties, Consumer Council therefore continues to enhance its services and simplify the procedures for submission of disputes to the Arbitration Centre. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre, Consumer Council organizes series of activities, including the release of a commemorative envelope for the 15th anniversary of the establishment of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre', to promote the services of the Arbitration Centre to public. The commemorative envelope will be distributed to public on 12th March from 9AM to 1730PM, a Post Counter will be set up at the Philately Shop located at Macao Post Headquarters and commemorative postmark cancellation service will be provided. A limit of 5 envelopes per person will be distributed each time while stocks last. For inquiry, please call 8988-9315. * The above article can be downloaded at http://www.consumer.gov.mo/c/ccnews.asp
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To celebrate the 15th anniversary of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre', a carnival will be held by Consumer Council on 9th March from 3PM to 5PM at Largo de Camões in Taipa (in front of Pak Tai Temple). In order to promote the Regulations and services of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre' to the public, Consumer Council will hold 4 consecutive carnivals in different local communities on Saturdays in March. On 9th March (tomorrow), Consumer Council will have a carnival held at Largo de Camões in Taipa from 3PM to 5PM. On-site quiz games, booth games and information about the Arbitration Centre will be exhibited during the event. Further, Consumer Council held several exhibitions at tertiary institutions last year to promote the Regulations of 'Consumer Arbitration Centre', organizations and schools interested in organizing such exhibition are welcome to contact the Council for arrangement. For inquiry, please call 8988-9315.
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Consumer Council released its latest specific price survey on milk powder. Survey result showed that prices of the 8 surveyed products recorded various price differences. The highest price difference recorded was over 30 percent and average prices of all survey brands remained stable. On 28th February, Consumer Council collected prices of 8 brands of milk powder, mainly infant formulas for new born babies, from 28 retail outlets including drugstores and supermarkets. Survey result showed that the lowest price difference for the same product sold at different outlets was found in product 'Friso Infant Milk Formula – 1/900g' in which the lowest and highest prices differed for 1.77 percent while the greatest price discrepancy of 31.5 percent was recorded in 'Snow Brand Smart Baby 1/900g'. In comparison with December's figures, 'Nestle NAN H.A.1/900g' recorded price increases of about 1 percent in several retail spots while prices of other milk powder brands remained stable. The specific price survey on milk powder is now available on Consumer Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) and in the Council's 'Supermarket Price Information Platform' iPhone and Android apps. Further, for consumers' convenience to get hold of milk powder prices, Consumer Council sends requests to all drugstores listed on the list provided by Health Bureau to provide the most updated selling prices of milk powder. The Council will consolidate prices and information of the lowest and highest selling prices of 7 milk powder brands (for babies under one year old) and such information will be posted to the Council's website. The involved prices will be updated whenever the Council is informed by drugstores about any price changes.
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IFT strives to offer students various practical experiences in the bachelor degree programmes, enabling them to meet the industry requirements and be prepared for the challenges in their future career. All bachelor degree programme students are required to complete a 6-month internship in Macao or overseas during their 3rd year of study. Since the establishment of internship programme, students' performances are excellent and feedbacks from the industry are very positive. In the academic year 2012/13, over 50 organisations and corporations offer internship opportunities to IFT students, including Administration of Airports, Ltd., Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Cultural Affairs Bureau, DFS Cotai Limitada, East Asia Airlines Limited, EGL Tours (Macau) Company Limited, Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Grand Hyatt Macau, Hong Thai Travel Services (Macau) Ltd., Louis Vuitton Macau Company Limited, Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mandarin Oriental Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Macau, Morning Star Travel Service (Macau) Limited, New Yaohan Department Store, Nuance-Watson (Macau) Limited, Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau, Sheraton Macao Hotel Cotai Central, Sofitel Macau At Ponte 16, The Westin Resort Macau, The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel, Wing on Holidays (Macau) Co. Ltd., Wynn Macau and other industry partners. To broaden the horizons of the students, IFT has been aggressively exploring more opportunities of overseas internship. Students can choose to conduct internship at large corporations in the USA, Europe, South East Asia, Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China to experience a different life and work culture. In the academic year 2012/13, students completed internships at a number of international well-known organisations namely Anantara Kihavah Villa - Minor International (Labuan) Ltd in Baa Atoll of Republic of Maldives, Copthorne Hotel and Resort Queenstown Lakefront in New Zealand, Walt Disney World in Orlando USA, World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument - National Park Service in Honolulu USA, Wynn Las Vegas in USA, Heritage Conservation Department of Yiliang, Yunnan Province in China, Shanghai International Convention Center - The Oriental Riverside Hotel in China, World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (Shanghai) under the auspices of UNESCO in China, Le Méridien Taipei Hotel in Chinese Taiwan, Hilton Cairns in Queensland Australia, Lux Island Resorts Ltd. in Belle Mare of Republic of Mauritius, Macau Tourism Promotion and Information Centre in Portugal, National Trust Carmarthenshire Portfolio in UK, W Retreat Koh Samui in Surat Thani Thailand, etc. Starting from the academic year 2008/09, IFT has been working together with The Florida State University and Walt Disney World in offering internship opportunities to students through the "International College Program". Participating students will attend an intensive hospitality course at The Florida State University before they perform internships at the Walt Disney World. On 6 March, Ms. Julie De Francisco and Ms. Yvette Noethen, Walt Disney World International Recruiters, visited IFT to introduce their internship programme and interview the students. Successful candidates will go to the Walt Disney World in Orlando USA to learn the theme park operation and customer service skills. They can also experience different cultures through the interaction and communication with students around the world.
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