Dealers at
Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino will have to pay the price if
they fall ill during the
Chinese New Year (CNY) period.
In a report by The Straits Times, anyone who fails to
turn up for work at the casino during this time — regardless of
whether they have a valid sick leave (MC) — will receive two
demerit points. Staff who do not take leave during this period will
receive four merit points.
This comes as the casino braces itself for a flood of patrons
during CNY, which has its first day on Thursday next week.
The
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is not too pleased with this move,
telling ST that employers “should not require employees to
compromise their right to take legitimate medical leave, or be
penalised if they do so”.
It added that employees can seek its help or advice if they feel
that they have been unfairly treated for taking an MC by sending an
email message to [email protected]
Negative reaction
Dealers are obviously upset about the MBS’ decision.
Dealer Edwin Lee, who is in his late 30s, said, “What if someone
is genuinely sick during that time? It doesn’t seem like such a
fair thing to do.”
Croupiers were informed of the rule in a memo last Friday. The
casino said that the rule was enforced to ensure they were
adequately staffed during the CNY peak period from February 2 to
February 10.
Madam Halimah Yacob, deputy secretary-general of the National
Trade Union Congress, believes that a sick worker should not be
forced to work.
“If, despite being sick and having a valid MC, a worker still
decides to go to work, who is going to be responsible if something
happens to him?” she told ST.
While the move by MBS may seem harsh, industry and human
resource experts say they understand why the casino made such a
drastic move to ensure dealers show up.
Mr Tony Compton, who has been in the gambling industry for over
20 years, said this is the first time he has heard of such an
action.
“This is MBS’ first CNY, and they will be very very busy. It’s
up to the company to do what they have to, to ensure that it is
well-staffed during that period,” said the Boston Business School
lecturer in casino management.
Ms Jacqueline Thoo, a lecturer in human resource management at
Singapore Polytechnic, felt the move was too harsh. However, she
admitted that “medical leave taken during that time would affect
operations very significantly”.
ST discovered that 250 out of 1,500 MBS dealers took
medical leave on New Year’s Eve last month.
Rewards suggested
“The situation may have pushed the company to resort to such
measures. However there should be more consideration for employees
who may get sick during that period,” said Ms Thoo.
Perhaps giving staff an additional day off or paying them more
for working during CNY might help, suggested Ms Thoo.
Resorts
World Sentosa (RWS), for example, is paying its staff more than
the usual overtime pay and public holiday rates to work over the
CNY period.
An MBS spokesman was tight-lipped when asked about the reason
behind the casino’s demerit points system. He only revealed
that it allows them to identify and reward worthy employees based
on their performance and attendance.
Although this ruling is designed to target the less-hardworking
bunch of dealers, it has not gone down well with those who have put
in their blood and sweat to the job.
“I was quite okay about working during the CNY period, but after
seeing the memo, I feel like taking MC to challenge them,” said a
33-year-old dealer, who is scheduled to work on eight straight days
from Feb 2.
He also worked on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve
and New Year’s Day.
- Yahoo!Singapore
