The offer by Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd of varied options for table games dealers’ working week – including the possibility of a five-day week rather than the standard Macau six-day one – has been praised by two labour groupings canvassed by GGRAsia.
The labour representatives respectively called the move “flexible” and “desirable”.
In late December, Sands China said in a recruitment notice, it wished to hire dealers for its table games department and was offering three types of work schedule. Full-time dealers could either opt for the Macau-standard six days a week, i.e., a 48-hour week; or a five-day week, i.e., 40 hours in total. Those seeking part-time work have the possibility of a three-day week.
GGRAsia has approached Sands China for comment on its latest dealer recruitment effort and its work schedule options.
Sands China’s flexible approach is not unprecedented in Macau, but nonetheless “welcome”, said Cloee Chao, leader of a local gaming labour group, New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association, in comments to GGRAsia.
She stated, referring to three of Macau’s six casino operating businesses: “These types of work schedule had actually already been offered before for dealers, intermittently in recent years, by Sands [China], Galaxy [Entertainment Group Ltd] and Melco [Resorts and Entertainment Ltd].”
Though she added such an offer had not been “openly publicised,” with such work schedule options having been “aimed at seasoned [dealer] workers”.
Local legislator Leong Sun Iok, representing Macau’s largest labour group, the Federation of Trade Unions, said such flexibility was “desirable”.
Mr Leong told GGRAsia that while six-days-a-week was the established practice citywide among employers, “I’d support the five-days-a-week one,” for casino delears, “as it better fits societal needs these days, especially to those that need time to take care of their families”.
He added: “I’d say the same for the three-days-a-week option… there are people that are just not able to work extensive hours throughout a week.”
The legislator further noted: “This flexible work arrangement can also enable more [Macau] residents to join the workforce. It is a desirable solution.” Under established practice in the city, only Macau ID holders can be casino games dealers.
As of second-quarter 2024, Macau had 23,467 dealers, down 0.9 percent year-on-year, according to the latest available “Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages” for the gaming industry, released by the Statistics and Census Service.
The 2024 second-quarter dealer tally is nearly 7 percent fewer compared to the same quarter in the pre-pandemic trading year of 2019, when Macau had 25,213 dealers.
As of June-end last year, Macau dealers’ monthly average earnings were MOP21,660 (US$2,694), about 6.5 percent higher than the same period in 2023. That pay level represented a 3.9 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019.
The Federation of Trade Unions’ Mr Leong noted: “In post-Covid 19 times, Macau casino operators have been seeing ever-increasing patron traffic, and we have often heard workers saying that their workload increased a lot.
“That’s why I have repeatedly urged the casino employers to recruit sufficient hands, so as to alleviate the work pressure on the existing staff,” he added.
