Lawmaker calls on gov’t to urge gaming operators to hire more locals

Lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong has urged the local government to call on gaming companies to hire more local workers.
Ng recalled that the government had informed him that, back in March, 88% of gaming companies’ executives and management members are local residents.
Whereas in August, another government reply revealed that the percentage of local residents working as executives and management members slightly decreased to 87.7%.
In his recent interpellation, Ng wants the government to disclose the most recent statistics in regards to the aforementioned percentage.
“Will the government state clearly as soon as possible that it will urge gaming operators to cooperate in order to increase the percentage of local executives and management members to 90%,” said Ng.
“In the first half of this year, the gaming industry was affected by the pandemic and its operation scale shrank sharply. I recommend the SAR government to urge gaming operators to adjust the percentage of non-local workers and local workers and set up policies that focus on local talents,” the lawmaker wrote.
According to Ng, some gaming companies’ managers reported to lawmakers that they are worried about the impact of the pandemic. “[These casino managers] worry that some of the gaming companies’ non-local projects may shrink in scale and some operators may relocate non-local managers to Macau, reducing opportunities for local employees.” JZ