Macau Casino Workers Forced To Take Unpaid Leave
In Macau, nearly 60% of casino workers are currently experiencing economic difficulties after being forced into unpaid leave due to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed.
A survey by the Macau Game Enterprise Employees' Association found that 59.6% of casino workers in former Portuguese residences had been laid off without pay, according to a report Friday in the Macau Daily Times newspaper. The source detailed that the survey directly surveyed 611 employees online in August, revealing that 80% of respondents are now "worried" or "very worried" about their future career prospects.
Macau's 39 casinos were closed for 15 days from Feb. 5 after a population of about 696,000 recorded the 10th confirmed coronavirus infection. The locations have since reopened under new social distancing and public health protocols, but business has reportedly been slow to recover due to scoping restrictions that severely restrict travel between the region and mainland China and Hong Kong.
In addition, in a recent survey, 6.6 percent of furloughed workers were required to take certain days off, while those with the longest careers seemed more likely to be placed on unpaid leave. Despite this situation, only 8% of those surveyed reportedly expressed their desire to change their jobs or industries this year.
After announcing its findings, the Macau Game Enterprise Employees Association reportedly called on local governments to introduce new safeguards to regulate unpaid leave, provide education for those eager to improve their skills, accelerate the economic rebound and adjust foreign employment quotas to protect jobs. This comes after the group's New Macau Game Employees Rights Association compatriots reportedly declared that up to 20,000 casino employees are currently unemployed and are likely to continue to be subject to unpaid leave.
Macau saw total gaming revenue fall 72.5% year-over-year in October to about $910.2 million, but that's an improvement over the past six months, when revenue continued to decline 90% on a similar basis. The continued slump is reportedly primarily due to a more than 90% drop in tourist arrivals, resulting in the city's overall official unemployment rate of 2.8% in the third quarter.