ANALYSIS | Casino protests gain momentum before CE election

Commenting on the recent workers’ rallies against two casinos, Larry So, a political commentator said that now is “the best time” for protestors to organize social campaigns during the summer months, especially when it is close to the CE election.
In the past seven days, two rallies were attended by hundreds of casinos workers, firstly at the Venetian Macao and then at Galaxy Entertainment Group, two local gaming operators. Both of the protests demanded higher benefits for casino workers, particularly for dealers (a position that can only be filled by residents).
Speaking on the sidelines of a gaming study seminar yesterday, Prof. So offered his thoughts on why groups had rallied recently. “I believe this is the best time,” he said. One of the reasons, according to So, is that there are a lot of visitors coming to Macau over the holidays. “More people observing the social campaign means placing pressure on both the gaming operator and the government. The campaign also occupied some of the labor of the casinos during their busy season.”
What’s more, protests during this period resonate more strongly with the government: “The recent period is close to the election of the next Chief Executive, therefore having social campaigns at this time is not ideal for the government. The government wants to solve the problem as soon as possible. (…) So as to avoid affecting their image and avoid creating an ‘uneasy’ atmosphere during the election campaign.”
According to So, although the salaries of casino workers are relatively higher than those in other industries, if an unfair system exists where, for instance, local and non-
local employees receive different salaries, conflicts are likely to occur. “In the current society of Macau, there’s a gap between the rich and the poor, which easily triggers conflicts. Controversy within gaming industry is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
In addition, having many people working in the gaming industry is also an advantage for more protestors to stand out. “It’ll be easier for them to gain support from their fellow workers, who are in a similar situation. ”
“Even though the outcry was from private enterprises, the government has to do something because gaming is the biggest industry in Macau,” he added.
He also illustrated the social movement called “fair trade” from Western countries as well as Hong Kong. “Fair trade also excludes exploitation of non-local labor. So people will not visit the enterprises violating this principle.”
So believes these campaigns would affect the image of the city, but the impact on the business environment would be marginal in the short term. However he still worried that the incidents could spread to other gaming operators if the earlier cases were not quickly resolved.