GGRAsia – Labour protest scheduled for tomorrow at Galaxy Macau

Labour protest scheduled for tomorrow at Galaxy Macau

Aug 04, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

A group of workers in the casino and hotel operations of Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd has scheduled a protest for tomorrow outside of the company’s Galaxy Macau (pictured) casino resort.

The announcement was made by Forefront of the Macao Gaming, a labour group that is supporting the workers, Macau Business Daily reported on Monday.

The workers are petitioning the Hong Kong-listed company to increase salaries, introduce changes to pay policies, and provide staff with more annual leave days and better career prospects. The group had already delivered a petition to Galaxy Entertainment’s corporate offices last week.

“Galaxy Entertainment constantly maintains an open communication channel with our team members to encourage resolving problems with a tolerant and appropriate attitude,” the company’s vice president of public relations, Buddy Lam, told GGRAsia in a written reply last week. “Galaxy Entertainment will continue to address the questions that were brought forward with the team members directly and we are confident that through internal communication, this situation will be completely resolved,” he added.

The Galaxy Entertainment workers met with the Macau government’s Labour Affairs Bureau on Friday. However, the group was left unsatisfied with the officials’ answer to their demands and decided to stage tomorrow’s protest, Macau Business Daily reports.

Forefront of the Macao Gaming is also supporting workers from gaming operator Sands China Ltd who are requesting changes in pay and promotion policies. The group last week organised a protest outside of Sands China’s Venetian Macao, attended by about 1,500 people, according to the organisers. The labour group has said it might organise a new protest or even a strike on August 28, the anniversary of the opening of casino resort Venetian Macao, if the workers’ requests are not fulfilled.

At an unrelated event, another Macau labour group petitioned local tourism company AA Tourism Ltd – which reportedly provides shuttle services for three casino operators in Macau – to increase the salaries of its drivers. The group demanded a 12-percent pay rise to narrow the pay differential regarding salaries of shuttle drivers directly hired by gaming and hotel operators, the Macau Post reported on Monday.