It is not a secret that the gambling industry in Macau is having a hard time. Although some market analysts believe that the current troubles with the revenues will be solved in the foreseeable future, that’s definitely not the only problem the local gambling sector has to deal with.
A representative of MGM China, has recently raised the question about the lack of experienced professionals who can work in the Macau-based gambling venues.
As a matter of fact, Pansy Ho defined the labor shortage as one of the key reasons for the halt in the development of the Macau tourism. Ho didn’t miss to pinpoint the fact that the authorities have to find a successful strategy for attracting workers in order to remain competitive, able to live up to the customers’ demands and to overcome successfully the challenges the fast – growing industry imposes.
Pansy Ho discussed the complicated problem during a forum, concerning the global tourism matters and said that currently, the labor market of Macau can not adequately respond to the high demands of the local business. Ho stated that the issue requires a careful approach. Actually, it is a double-edged sword because even if the authorities succeed in attracting foreign workers, these actions may result in howls of protests from the local residents whose job opportunities will be drastically limited.
Currently, residents of foreign countries are not allowed to work as dealers in casino venues in Macau. However, things may change soon because the imposed ban may lead to serious problems with the staff, especially when the new venues, located on Cotai, open doors for players. The chances for failing to hire enough staff for the needs of their business are pretty high unless some amenities in the law are promptly made.
However, there is another side of the coin. In order to consider opening the job market for foreigners, the authorities require the companies to provide convincing evidence as a proof that the salaries of the local people won’t be affected by the changes.
During the discussion Ho also added that Macau should definitely attract workers from the neighboring countries. Unfortunately, the situation with the Hong Kong visas is not too optimistic. The authorities suspended the visa approvals procedure and Ho believes that Macau and especially the tourism sector will be greatly affected.
Actually, the Government is quite familiar with the issue, which has been publicly discussed over the last few months. Representatives of the Macau-based casino venues kept reminding the regulators that at one point, the industry will face up the staff shortage.
All casino owners urge the regulators to take urgent measures towards increasing the labor quota for foreigners so the gambling and tourist sectors are given a chance for further development.
