In regard to the impact of the closure of the satellite casinos by the end of this year on their employees, the SAR Government has been highly concerned about the situation and will conduct strict supervision on the transition arrangements made by the concerned gaming concessionaires for their local employees. Meanwhile, the SAR Government will give full assistance to every single local employee affected by the closure to ensure that their legal rights and interests will not be harmed; for those in need, supports such as job matching and vocational training will also be provided.
At present, there is a total of about 5,600 local employees working at the satellite casinos; among them, around 4,800 local employees are hired by the gaming concessionaires and deployed to work at the satellite casinos, and around 800 local employees are directly hired by the satellite casino operators. The SAR Government has required the three gaming concessionaires to make proper arrangements and fully absorb their employees deployed, so as to ensure their continuous employment. At the same time, the satellite casino operators also have the responsibilities to make proper arrangements for their directly hired local employees.
The SAR government has accordingly rolled out multi-pronged measures. Today the Labour Affairs Bureau has deployed personnel to the satellite casinos, taking part in the meetings held between the human resources departments of the concessionaires and of the satellite casinos and their affected employees, and providing assistance including labour legislation consultation. Moreover, the Labour Affairs Bureau has already operated hotlines (2842 0992 and 2871 7810) and set up designated service counters at its Head Office, Tai Peng Office and Golden Dragon Office to offer one-stop service to the affected employees. Meanwhile, explanation talks related to labour rights and interests will be organized, with an aim of giving full assistance to the affected local employees through these multi-pronged measures.
At the same time, the SAR Government has been paying close attention to the business of the surrounding shops of the satellite casinos. The Economic and Technological Development Bureau has recently deployed personnel to conduct field visits for several times to gain an understanding of the business of such shops, so is actively preparing to roll out some measures in such areas, including interdepartmental collaboration in optimizing the whole outlook of the community, and will conduct research on the introduction of any activities and programmes beneficial to the commercial development of such areas, striving to attract more residents and tourists to visit there for spending.
Furthermore, the relevant departments have already launched support hotlines, including the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (2856 9262), the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (8597 2288), and the Monetary Authority of Macao (2856 8856). If needed, residents are encouraged to contact the above departments for enquiry.
