MANY
casino employees, particularly dealers, from Marina Bay Sands could
be submitting their letters of resignation as early as
Monday.
One employee with the integrated resort, who declined to be named,
said that "many dealers are not happy and want to resign".
Industry insiders told my paper that many dealers are unhappy over
issues such as pay, hectic work schedules and training.
A social-networking website had a posting which suggested that
there was a "mass resignation" of dealers early this month.
One person who posted on the site said he was aware of at least
eight staff serving the VIP rooms who would be leaving this
month.
The employee that my paper spoke to said that the reason why there
could be an exodus of dealers is because "their contract is
up".
"They have three months of training and are bonded for six months
after that. If they want to leave early, they have to pay (for the
training). Now that the six-month bond is up, many want to leave,"
he said.
It is understood that the training for many dealers began in
February. Their bond began on the day Marina Bay Sands opened its
doors, which is April 27. So, their six-month bond ends on Oct
26.
If the dealers tender their resignation on Monday, that would give
them about a month's notice before their bond ends.
The employee said that he knew of at least three dealers who intend
to quit next week. One of them had actually left a higher-paying
job in the service industry to become a dealer as it was a new
experience. The dealer even turned down an offer to work in a
bank.
Frustrated by issues such as not getting paid in a timely manner
while on medical leave, as well as the hectic schedules in the
first four to five months of work, the dealer decided to leave
Sands. He was also upset about being paid less than dealers at
Resorts World Sentosa, the other integrated resort.
"The dealer regretted not taking up the bank job," the employee
said, adding that the dealer is now looking at either working in
the Sentosa IR or in a bank.
The employee and another industry source said that dealers and
other staff working on the casino floor of Sands cannot take leave
for the rest of the year as it the dates have all been blocked
out.
The amount of work required of some staff has also gone up. Both
the Marina Bay Sands employee and the industry source told my paper
that about a month ago, many of the supervisors of the dealers had
to take charge of more tables.
According to a posting on a social- networking website, these
supervisors now oversee six or more tables.
When contacted, a Marina Bay Sands spokesman would say only that
"we have not received any mass resignations from our casino team
members".
