GGRAsia – Galaxy looks to smooth contractor-labour row on Phase 3

Galaxy looks to smooth contractor-labour row on Phase 3

Jul 14, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Complaints by some local construction workers regarding their reported laying off from contractor-based work at the Galaxy Macau Phase 3 casino resort instead of being immediately retained for Phase 4, are being examined by Macau’s Labour Affairs Bureau, it said in a Monday statement.

The site’s developer, Macau casino licensee Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, said in a statement the same day, that the relevant contractor and sub-contractor element involved in “moulder and bar bender” work at Phase 3 had complied with Macau’s Labour Relations Law in paying out compensation to those laid off.

The Labour Affairs Bureau stated it was looking into the matter, and confirmed it had received complaints from some local construction workers on issues including “pay”, “compensation for layoffs”, and purported violations of local labour policies and law.

It was reported in local media that more than 100 local construction workers had gathered (pictured) at the Galaxy Macau Phase 3 construction site on Monday morning to air their grievances.

GGRAsia contacted Galaxy Entertainment to ask whether its management had been aware of the dispute before it was covered in the local media on Monday, and whether the issue might delay in any way the progress of construction on Phase 3, which has seen several amendments to its timetable. We had not received a reply to those questions by the time this story went online. Instead, the firm sent GGRAsia a general statement.

It noted: “Due to the substantial completion of the relevant formwork and bar-bending work at the construction sites of Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Phase 3 project, the related contractors and their sub-contractors had arranged for the exit of all related non-local [non-resident worker] moulders and bar benders from the construction sites by June 30, before arranging that [the exit] of the related local moulders and bar benders from July 7 to July 9.”

The statement added: “In accordance with their contracts and the Macau Labour Relations Law, the related contractors and their sub-contractors had paid out all related compensation to the related workers and the compensation had been accepted by most of the workers.”

Galaxy Entertainment went on: “As the owner of the project, Galaxy Entertainment Group has immediately ordered the construction contractor of its Phase 4 project to try its best to prioritise the [fresh] recruitment of these local workers,” noting that what it described as the “interview process” had begun on Monday afternoon.

“In the meantime, Galaxy Entertainment Group would like to clarify that among all the related non-local moulders and bar benders who exited the construction sites, none of them has been recruited for the Phase 4 project.”

The labour bureau said it had been helping the relevant Macau-resident construction workers to find new jobs. In addition, it would also assign staff to monitor the job interviews for any workers seeking to take part in new construction jobs, to ensure the “fairness” of the interview process.

Work at height on a portion of the Galaxy Macau Phase 3 site was suspended for a month by the Labour Affairs Bureau earlier this year, following a triple-fatality incident in late March.

After an investigation, the bureau found that a “main cause” was “due to the collapse” of “overloaded scaffolding,” which had a “lack of maintenance and was stocked up with too many articles”.