Lawmaker Leong Sun Iok, together with the Macau Federation of Trade Unions, has expressed concern over the physical and mental health of gaming industry workers. In a spoken inquiry delivered at the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Leong noted that, while the gaming industry has been thriving after the reopening of the borders and easing of the pandemic restrictions, the industry has not yet reestablished the number of workers and benefits to pre-pandemic levels, which often forces workers of the gaming concessionaires to handle unreasonable numbers of patrons.
“With the gradual recovery of gaming revenue, I have received several requests for support from frontline workers who complain that, after the pandemic, the number of visitors [has] increased and, due to lack of manpower, they had to attend to more customers,” he said, adding, “furthermore, they are constantly dealing with fraudsters and have also been forced to adapt to new electronic gaming tables and new equipment. If they make a mistake, they easily receive warning letters, and there have even been cases in which workers have been fired for work-related mistakes, or even advised to voluntarily quit.”
Leong claims that such an attitude from the gaming concessionaires is causing problems for both the physical and mental health of the workers.
“Many workers complain about the shifts, as they are many and very busy, which affects their working hours and their family and social life, putting them under physical and psychological pressure,” the lawmakers said.
The lawmaker said that, although there is a new gaming law in force that establishes several obligations around concessionaires’ relationship with their workers, there is a lack of scrutiny on enforcement.
He noted that the gaming sector is where the largest number of workers are employed and accordingly supports tens of thousands of families, but reaffirmed the need for companies to see their staff members as “precious assets.”
“I appeal to concessionaires to reduce the pressure on workers, hiring more workers promptly and helping them resolve problems according to their needs. Warning letters should not be issued [so readily] but should be only for good reason in the name of keeping a harmonious employment relationship.”
The same lawmaker also called on authorities to optimize the regime that regulates the work on shifts and to provide workers with proper training on the new electronic gaming tables and others.
He concluded by noting that a recovery in the gaming industry results is expected to match an improvement in the benefits and working conditions of the workers to boost morale, promote the physical and mental health of workers, and the sustainable and healthy development of the sector.
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