Macau Legend Development Ltd’s casinos are allegedly forcing some casino staff to accept consumption vouchers as a substitute for their yearly bonus, or else be subject to demotion, according to the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association.
Cloee Chao, the president of the association, said that the casinos’ management informed the affected staff that the firms will buy back the delivered vouchers in cash — albeit 40% less than the original value — if the staff insist upon not receiving the vouchers.
There are currently 91 employees from Legend Palace Casino and some 40 staff from Landmark Casino affected, Chao confirmed. She was told that some staff at the group’s third casino, Babylon Casino, have also been treated in this way.
According to Chao, the casinos delivered the first allowance valued at MOP17,000, as agreed, to the staff on February 5. However, the second allowance worth over MOP20,000, which was originally scheduled to be delivered in cash in July 2021, was also distributed on the same day in the form of cash vouchers.
“We believe the mishap is a decision made by the management of these casinos, but not the SJM group itself, considering that the licensee already awarded [the first] allowance in cash to its employees working for its main casinos,” Chao said.
The association has been the agent representing and advocating for the labour rights of the concerned staff. On Tuesday, the alliance delivered a petition letter regarding the presumptively unlawful move to Wong Chi Hong, the director of the Labour Affairs Bureau, following the first complaint filed with the Bureau on February 5.
According to the release published by the association, the vouchers can only be redeemed in Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, Legend Palace Hotel, Harbourview Hotel and Rocks Hotel, and will expire by the end of December this year.
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