Casino workers rally against MGM

João Pedro Lau

A group of casino employees gathered outside MGM Macau yesterday afternoon to protest against the company’s salary scheme. The organizers demanded the casino operator respond to their request before the end of the Chinese National Day golden week holiday, which begins in two days’ time.
Ung Kim Ip, the leader of the protestors, said that they demanded a fairer wage adjustment.
“Today, our major [idea] is to say no to [an] unfair system. The fact is, MGM’s wage adjustment mechanism has stipulated [employees] to meet five criteria before our wages can be changed. First, we cannot apply for an amount of sick leave that is more than the law and the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) can allow; second, we cannot receive warning letters; third, we cannot be absent without reason; fourth, if we have been promoted within a year, we are not eligible [for wage adjustment]; fifth, if some employees have reached the maximum salary [of their position] set by the company, they also would not receive a wage adjustment,” he explained.
Mr Ung said that they visited the DSAL around two weeks ago to discuss several issues with the authorities. However, the casino employees do not think that the bureau has passed on their requests to their employers.
“Employees questioned whether DSAL has helped them to deal with these problems. They are skeptical about it and suspected that crony capitalism is involved,” he said.
In yesterday’s protest, there were also workers from Wynn Macau and SJM. Ung Kim Ip estimated that there were 500 people that participated in the protest.
Mr Ung said that MGM Macau has already responded to one or two of their demands since the previous protest. He hoped that MGM Macau will respond positively to their request within the golden week. “Or else, employees may launch industry actions to counter the stalling and unresponsive attitude of the company,” declared the leader.