Galaxy Entertainment Group became the second Macau casino operator to be targeted by “People Power” in less than two weeks after hundreds gathered outside the company’s Starworld hotel (pictured) on the Macau Peninsula for more than an hour to protest the company’s compensation and conditions.
The protesters initially hoped to patrol the front of the casino hotel but headed for the road at the back of the building. Many of the protesters sat on the road for a while, but were not challenged or moved by the police. The road had to be closed to make it inaccessible because crowds gathered.
Galaxy Entertainment is likely to avoid direct attention from the front of the Macau game, after a group of local workers said Tuesday it had also canceled an earlier planned march outside Galaxy Macau in Kotai. The group said it was “not convenient” to use the site because of the current building work in Galaxy Macau, which is undergoing an expansion of about $2.9 billion.
Galaxy Entertainment’s market rival, Sands China Inc., saw up to 1,500 people participate in a protest organized by Front of the Macao Gaming outside of Venice on July 24. Police, however, estimate the number to be 900.
Galaxy Entertainment announced on Monday that it is offering company shares and bonuses to employees below senior managers, although it has loyalty conditions to tie employees to the company through the end of 2017.
At first, the timing of Monday’s announcement seemed likely to be a coincidence. A spokesperson for the earlier gathering on Tuesday, which began at the Golden Lotus Square on the Macau Peninsula, estimated that only 300 people attended, rather than the 500 initially expected, as more people filled the crowd for an hour as members of the association gave back-to-back speeches.
“We thought there were about 300 people, and we expected 500,” Kelvin Leong, a spokesperson for Front of Macau Gaming, told GGRAsia.
“I think it’s because some people were happy with the offer that Galaxy [Entertainment] made,” he added.
Employees are asking Hong Kong-listed Galaxy Entertainment to raise salaries, introduce pay policy changes and provide employees with more annual leave days and better job prospects.
But Mr. Leong added that he was still unhappy with Galaxy Entertainment in both numbers and revenue generation, which are key elements of the casino floor workforce.
He said, “Dealers are still not satisfied. Especially those at Starworld.” He did not explain what was wrong with the property, which opened in 2006, the first special production site for Galaxy Entertainment.
Earlier in the day, labor group chairman Lee Young-man Teng told reporters that “it was not convenient to hold today’s event in the Galactic Macao.”
BY: 바카라사이트