Gaming | VIP room employees seek help from DSAL

The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) has received requests for assistance from 52 former employees of four VIP rooms that have closed or are undergoing business consolidation, according to the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong.
“We have been constantly monitoring the closure of VIP rooms and whether it will have a negative impact on [Macau’s] employment environment,” he said. “We are going to see whether there will be workplace disputes [triggered by the closure] and we will have the DSAL department of employment matching to follow up on the situation.”
“In fact, according to the most updated figures from the DSAL, until yesterday [Wednesday] afternoon, there are four VIP rooms that have [filed] some requests for assistance after their closure or consolidation, which involve 52 workers,” he said.
The secretary stressed that it is important to establish mechanisms to handle possible unemployment caused by the shuttering of VIP rooms and junket operators, so that the government can provide timely assistance in employment and training to affected workers. He also explained that the closure and consolidation of VIP rooms may not be directly related to the shuttering of junket operators.
Leong also reiterated that the consolidation of the gaming industry is a normal phenomenon. “What is important is whether this [consolidation] process in the gaming industry is going to help Macau to become a world tourism and leisure centre, as well as whether the industry is developing healthily. I think these are what people should pay attention to,” he said.
The deputy director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Leong Man Ion revealed on Wednesday that there are already five junket operators that have ceased to renew, or have surrendered their licenses, since the beginning of this year. JPL