Ahead of the Lunar New Year, Macau casino workers may have to work overtime due to increased consumer demand after three years of silence due to COVID-19, one employee representative said.
Due to promotion of existing workers, there are not enough workers to cover all required positions in time for Chinese New Year.
Heavy Work Potential Before Chinese New Year
Lei lok Po, director of the Power of Macau Gaming Working Group, said of the potential increase in workload during the Chinese New Year: “From what we understand, gaming staff at some Cotai resorts, including Galaxy Macau and Venetian Macao, have already been told to wait for overtime shifts during the Lunar New Year period.”
Galaxy Macau, operated by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd., two major Macau-based iGaming provider brands and resorts, and Venetian Macau, whose facilities are located in the Cotai district of Sands China Ltd. I posted a comment.
When asked to comment on Labor Representative Lei's remarks regarding employers' requests for overtime, one company said in an email response that it was "offering workloads to game floor team members to meet operational needs during the Chinese New Year holiday." We comply with all labor laws and regulations of the Macau SAR government, including when assigning.”
Macau runs out of casino workers every year
Cloee Chao Sao Fong, president of the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association, a local gaming labor activist group, commented on the potential shortage of workers for the required jobs. ``Over the past two years or so, there have been many cases when table games staff were assigned to other departments, such as security or cage operations, when game floor traffic was low.''
“Now, these table games staff are needed again. Some people may not.
For this Lunar New Year gaming floor, “(staff) hands are looking pretty tough.”
Increase in tourists due to lifting of COVID measures
With the lifting of COVID-1 measures in early January, Macau is expected to see a peak of 1 visitors a day in time for the Lunar New Year.However, wearing masks is still mandatory when attending public events, according to local health officials.
In this regard, Maria Helena de Sena Fernández, Director General of the Macao Tourism Board, said: “Daily visitors to Macau could peak at 1 during the Lunar New Year period, but many gaming industry analysts believe that visitor numbers, by themselves, could be a significant factor in Macau’s total casino gaming revenues. It is neither a proxy nor a particularly accurate predictor of (GGR) performance.”
Cancel holiday leave for existing casino employees
中国国務院は、中国本土の現地人の休暇期間を2023年1月21日から1月27日に設定した。香港に関しては、2023年1月23日から1月25日までが休暇期間となる。
In this regard, Lei said: "Some casino floor staff were told they might face cancellations of their scheduled rest days during the festive period.
"The good news is...at least frontline casino staff are now relieved...they won't have to take unpaid leave from time to time as happened during the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.
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