Coming up trumps

Most casino workers are going to enjoy at least a five per cent salary hike this year Five of the six Macau casino operators increased employee salaries by a minimum of 5 per cent last month. Despite revenues plunging since June, gaming companies hope to overcome a potential labour shortage this year. Wynn Macau Ltd., St. Regis Hotel, The Ritz Hotel, Marriot Hotel and Macao Studio City have all recently hosted job fairs. The hunt for workers is definitely on in Cotai. This year, the second phase of Galaxy Macau is slated to open, followed by Sands China Ltd.’s Parisian Macau and Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd.’s Studio City. These projects require thousands of workers, and retaining staff is a necessity these days. Galaxy Entertainment’s vice chairman, Francis Lui Yiu Tung, said last month that the company has recruited 2,500 workers to date, from an estimated 8,000 new employees needed to staff Phase II and Broadway. In January, SJM Holdings Ltd. announced a salary increase of 5 per cent, effective that month. It was the first of the six gaming operators to announce a salary hike in 2015. It also announced that the company’s contributions to its workers’ provident fund would be based on a combination of the employee’s basic salary and tips, known as ‘tea money’. SJM said that ‘despite the prospects of the economy remaining unknown, [SJM] is still optimistic about the long term development of the economy. [As such, SJM] has decided to be the first in the industry to announce a salary increase for its employees, improving benefits and carrying out a bonus scheme just as before’. Sands China increased the salaries of 26,000 eligible full-time team members by 5 per cent, effective from March this year. The wage increase follows the recent payment of a bonus announced in February. Above average MGM China Holdings Ltd.’s workers received an increase in March above average, with pay hikes ranging from 5 to 8 per cent. Non-management workers whose monthly salary is MOP12,000 or less had a raise of MOP700 per month, equating to a 6 to 8 per cent increase. For staff earning more than MOP12,000 the increase was 5 per cent. “MGM China is committed to providing a competitive level of benefits and compensation for our team members”, Grant Bowie, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director of MGM China, said in a press release. This pay hike also followed a special bonus to non-management team members, announced in February, which is to be paid in July this year. Wynn Macau also announced a 5 per cent salary rise for all its workers whose monthly wage was MOP65,000 or less, representing close to 98 per cent of the current 8,100 workforce. “This increase is in addition to the 1,000 shares we granted to each of our employees, which now totals 8.3 million shares given since July 2014. These shares, including their annual dividends, represent an additional 10 per cent increase in pay,” Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts Stephen Wynn wrote. Last but not least, Melco Crown Entertainment has announced a salary increase of 5 per cent for all its eligible non-management workers in Macau and Hong Kong effective April 2015. The CEO of the corporation, Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, claimed in an internal notice that the company will still offer a salary rise despite an “extremely difficult environment”, saying the gaming market of Macau is undergoing an unprecedented buffeting full of variables and challenges. In January, Melco Crown announced it would give all of its employees except managers a bonus equivalent to one month’s salary. Only Galaxy Entertainment Group has not announced a salary increase for this year.