May 1 | Employment security tops concerns

Casino workers will again take their appeals to the street to mark Labor Day today. The Forefront of Macau Gaming (FMG) and the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) stated in a joint press conference that the emphasis of their demands would shift to employment security this year, drawing on the downfalls of the gaming industry.
The union had previously stressed casino workers’ demands of a full smoking ban in order to promote a healthier working environment, as well as a pay rise and better welfare. This year, the march organizers will continue to appeal for a salary increase to cope with inflation, and push for a full smoking ban to be eventually put into place. Furthermore, they will urge for an exit mechanism for migrant workers in the city.
The CTU chairman, Ms Cloee Chao, told the media that the industry downturn has caused local workers to lose their jobs in gambling rooms, whereas the migrant workers tended to avoid this job loss.
The groups also said that they have constantly received complaints from workers that they were issued warning letters from the employer despite not having done anything wrong. Accordingly, the protest would urge the Labor Bureau to intervene as workers worry that casinos might be using such move to downsize.
Ms Chao stressed that the protest today would focus on urging the government to keep a strong stance facing casino operators during the revenue plunge, and continuing its oppositional stance of hiring non-local workers for the position of croupiers.
The FMG also stated that the ratio of migrant workers in Macau’s casinos has exceeded the “alarming line” of 20 percent to reach over 35 percent. “We urge that the government must suppress the overflow of migrant workers and establish an exit mechanism for them in order to protect the locals’ employment,” stated the group’s representative, Mr Well Ung.
Ung said they believe that “the casino operators are still earning enough,” thus they shouldn’t shirk the responsibilities of providing employees with subsidies, commuting transport, pay rise system and retirement security.
Apart from casino workers, there will be frontline public servants, taxi drivers and other types of workers in the transportation industry, joining the Labor Day march. According to the Public Security Police, a total of thirteen groups and one individual will be organizing demonstrations today, and the total number of protesters is estimated to be at about 2,000.
The march is scheduled to proceed from 10:15am to 5pm, where 13 processions will assemble and depart from six different locations, including Iao Hon Park, Tap Seac Square, the Border Gate Square, Triangular Garden, Amizade Square, and the Macau Tower Square. The protesters will conclude the march by delivering their petition letters to the Government Headquarters and the Chinese Liaison
Office respectively.