SJM to deliver ‘living subsidy’ to staff tomorrow

Macau’s gaming operator Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (SJM) has affirmed its commitment to deliver two bonuses as part of the casino industry’s customary annual stipend, also dubbed the “living subsidy”, according to the conglomerate’s announcement published yesterday.
The subsidy can comprise an amount totaling 1.5 to 2 months of salary. It will come in two equally split installments. The first payment will be delivered to eligible employees tomorrow, and the second payment is expected to be made in July.
Ever since the pandemic began, the city’s casino workers have been propelled into financial suffering, with many of them being laid off or furloughed.
The two bonuses are considered a much-needed life-saver to struggling casino staff during the crisis.
“Without these two [bonuses], the annual paycheck a casino worker can receive by 2020 will drop drastically by around 70%,” Cloee Chao, President of the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association previously told the Times.
A casino worker used to receive bonuses twice yearly pre-pandemic, as the summer and winter bonuses. Each is equivalent to about one month’s salary. They are traditionally handed out in the July-August period and before Chinese New Year, respectively.
The SJM’s first bonus, which is set to be delivered tomorrow, is deemed the winter bonus.
In a written memo, Daisy Ho, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SJM said, “We would like to thank our staff members for their diligent work and dedicated support amidst the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
In a study surveying around 1,200 local casino workers in November 2020 conducted by the association, nearly 80% of respondents said that they had suffered a great loss to their income. Over 99.5% of them claimed they are pinning hopes on the issuance of the winter bonus before the Chinese New Year.
The crises of joblessness and underemployment caused by the pandemic prompted the association to deliver a letter to the Chief Executive in November last year, imploring him to safeguard staff wage interests. Honey Tsang