The last few weeks have been rough for Ontario’s gaming field, as Gateway Casinos & Entertainment announced the layoff of a substantial number of its staff members at Casino Rama and Gateway Casinos Innisfil. The announcement outraged Unifor Local 1090 protecting the rights of more than 8,700 individuals employed in the field. Jerry Dias, Unifor National President, stated that the casino operator is taking advantage of its employees.
Fair conditions for development is a crucial element of a healthy work environment that has a lot on offer and could guarantee years of prosperity. Gateway Casinos is known as one of the biggest casino developers in Canada with gaming venues in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. The locations operate under brands to the likes of Cascades Casino, Playtime Casino, Starlight Casino and more, making for a diverse profile.
Unifor Outraged by Layoffs
Two of Ontario’s gaming hotspots were recently hit with a wave of layoffs that came as a surprise to many individuals, including the staff members. The gaming venue at Georgian Downs and the largest First Nations casino venue in Rama were hit with layoffs seeking spending optimization and brighter future for Ontario’s gaming field.
Some 70 unionized Casino Rama workers and an undisclosed number of non-unionized staff members received their layoff notice. This triggered Unifor Local’s immediate reaction voiced by the union’s president. He pointed out that the casino operator was eager to see expansion across the province part of Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s modernization process. Gaining control over many properties and gaming bundles was an achievement.
Promises at the beginning of operation were that all staff members would remain in their positions and no layoffs would be needed. Gateway Casinos had to wait exactly 52 weeks, or until July 18, 2019, before it had the legal right to make changes to the staff. It appears that this was the case and as soon as it had the legal permission to reduce the staff, Gateway Casinos did so.
Shift of Focus to Future Casinos
The thing that concerns Unifor Local the most is that 65 of the individuals that would no longer work at Casino Rama used to be employed there full time. Unifor considers this a tough hit to the workforce, as those are experienced staff members, some of which have been employed there since the very beginning of Casino Rama’s operation.
The labor union also warned that layoffs in other casino locations could result in its long-lasting bad reputation and an overall drop in people’s trust levels. At the end of the day, casino operators should support casino host communities both with their gaming revenue allocations and by offering steady job positions to locals.
Last week brought yet another hit on Casino Rama’s workforce, as non-unionized workers were served their layoff notices. For the time being, the casino operator has not revealed the exact number of people that would have to walk out by July 29. Gateway Casinos stated that the tough decision to reduce casino staff aims to refocus efforts towards projects in London, Chatham-Kent, North Bay, Kenora, Sudbury, and Wasaga Beach.
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