Macau CEO to focus on imported worker law in second term

Wednesday 27th of August 2014

Macau Chief Executive Chui Sai On said he will focus on the revision of the imported foreign labor law should he be elected for a second term, according to local media.Entering the last four days of campaigning before Sunday’s Electoral College decision on who will lead the gambling hub, Chui said he believed that foreign workers are necessary for economic development, but warned that Macau’s stellar upward growth trajectory can’t last forever.

The report said Chui has commissioned the Macau Polytechnic Institute to research the issue, which the government plans to work on in the next term.He said any revisions need to be treated properly and when an economic recession happens, imported workers have to be sent away so local people can have job opportunities, the report said.Chui is widely expected to be re-elected for a second term.Macau’s casino operators are heavily reliant on foreign imported labor to staff their resorts, though the type of positions they can hold is restricted. Earlier this month, Chui said the companies should be made to take more responsibility for the housing and transport of their migrant workers, without providing further details.

In a report, Barclays has said that casinos are likely to need to hire around 55,500 employees from 2015 onwards as new resorts on Cotai are opened. Of the total between 14,000 and 17,000 will be dealer positions and 35,000 non-dealer.Dealer positions are reserved for Macau residents, but the bank said finding these workers shouldn’t be as issue as there are enough residents currently employed in casinos in non-dealer positions who could be retrained.

Labor Chui Sai On