Lawmakers call for salary updates for gaming concessionaire workers

Lawmakers Nick Lei

Lawmakers Nick Lei and Ella Lei are calling on the government to push the gaming concessionaires to increase the salaries of their workers.

The call follows the government’s announcement that, from January next year, it will update the salaries of all civil servants, with the two lawmakers seeking to align the remuneration of private company employees to that of government workers.

According to Nick Lei, the gaming industry now accounts for about 52,000 members of the local workforce. Given this contribution and the challenges these workers have faced during the pandemic, he argues that their position should not be overlooked.

In his view, the government should exercise influence over the concessionaires to update the salaries of workers, ideally by a percentage comparable to that which is applied to civil servants.

Expressing similar sentiments, Ella Lei also called for a salary update. She noted that although casino revenues have been growing exponentially and demonstrating better recovery than any other sector,  concessionaires have provided no compensation for the extended period of layoffs and reduced salaries that took place over the three years of pandemic restrictions.

According to the same lawmaker, workers have been complaining about the growing volume of work, linked to the increase in tourists, and the fact that staff numbers have not yet recovered to the pre-pandemic levels. This has resulted in workers being subjected to extended working hours, increased overtime, and a reduction in the number leave days available.

She added that some of the workers have also expressed many security concerns since the resumption of casino activities has brought back many illegal and unlawful activities such as illegal currency exchange and other issues that result in employees feeling vulnerable and at risk when dealing with offenders.