20,000 Macau casino workers underemployed

An NGO supporting casino workers’ rights claims underemployment is more serious than official statistics suggest. 

Macau.- The New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association is questioning official casino employment statistics from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).  

It says that over 20,000 casino workers are currently underemployed, on unpaid leave and facing welfare cuts.  

In some cases, workers are being forced to accept unpaid leave under the threat of reprisals, the association says. 

It adds that while some companies have instructed employees to resume their duties for the holiday period, others plan to continue with unpaid leave until 2021, The Standard HK reported.  

According to the DSEC, the underemployment rate in Macau was 3.7 per cent between June and August.