GGRAsia – Melco ops staff to reclaim rest days falling on public holidays

Melco ops staff to reclaim rest days falling on public holidays

Feb 13, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd announced on Wednesday that all “non-management operational employees” that have a scheduled rest day coinciding with a statutory holiday would be granted “an additional rest day”. The policy will be effective from “July 1, 2019”, the firm said in a press release.

Stephen Lao Ka Weng, president of a local gaming labour group called Power of the Macao Gaming Association, told GGRAsia that Melco Resorts’ announcement meant the firm would be following a practice already adopted by “most of” Macau’s casino operators. He added that he was “pleased” with the measure announced by Melco Resorts.

A number of gaming industry analysts has previously noted that Macau’s statistical full employment and the local government’s policy of requiring the city’s casino operators to hire only those with Macau ID as casino table games dealers, have given the casino labour force significant strength in its dealings with managements.

Mr Lao said regarding Melco Resorts’ statement: “The new holiday policy is clearly an improved benefit… for workers in this new year.”

According to the casino firm’s Wednesday announcement, the compensatory holiday would be granted on condition it be “utilised within 30 days before or after the statutory holiday at a date designated by the company”.

“In the Chinese New Year, we are pleased to announce the new arrangements on additional rest days for our non-management operational colleagues who are, together with all Melco employees, highly valued and appreciated,” said Melco Resorts’ chairman and chief executive Lawrence Ho Yau Lung in prepared remarks carried in Wednesday’s release.

In calendar year 2019, there is a total of 20 statutory holidays in Macau: half of them fall on dates after the month of August.

For historical and administrative reasons, Macau has a public holiday calendar that includes “non-mandatory” days as well as 10 mandatory ones. Mandatory holidays usually include festivals important in Chinese culture, and are times when friends and family are also likely to be on leave.

As stipulated by the Labour Relations Law, those employees paid monthly and that are required actually to work on a mandatory holiday should be entitled to receive an additional day’s basic remuneration on top of their monthly pay, plus a compensatory rest day designated by the employer within 30 days following the performance of work. Such compensatory leave can be substituted – by agreement with the relevant employer – for a day’s basic pay.

GGRAsia approached Melco Resorts seeking information on the number of non-management operational employees that will benefit from compensatory holiday where scheduled rest days coincide with statutory public holidays, but had not received a reply by the time this story went online.