Montreal Casino Croupiers Extend Strike, Poker Rooms Closed

Dealers at Loto-Quebec’s Montreal Casino continued their strike into its second week yesterday with negotiations underway but progress at an impasse. The Unlimited General Strike began on Saturday, May 21, a week after croupiers walked off the job in work stoppages twice on the previous weekend.

Over 520 dealers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have been working without a collective bargaining agreement with the Crown Corporation casino since April 1, 2020.

The Union noted that the casino “has lost in profit the equivalent of what the croupiers are demanding at the bargaining table,” since the strike began about a week ago.

Loto-Québec management said over the weekend that despite the strike, all systems at the casino are running normally except the poker room which has been shuttered. Table games, slot machines, restaurants, and entertainment are all up and running normally, according to management.

Dueling Statements Issued

Both sides issued dueling statements to make their positions clear and to help the public be informed about the situation and what the sticking points in reaching an agreement are.

Casino management said in a statement: “Loto-Quebec is disappointed that the Montreal Casino dealers’ union is continuing to strike when all the elements necessary to reach an agreement were available, especially since the last two years have been difficult for casino employees.”

Among the bones of contention are paid break periods and a reduction in starting pay for new hires.

The croupiers are also asking for better scheduling practices to help reduce repetitive strain injuries. When workers first struck on May 21, Union representative Jean-Pierre Proulx said, “One in two of our employees suffers physical injuries due to the nature of the work, which includes dealing nearly 10,000 cards a day, five to six days a week,” Proulx said. “After 15 years on the job, that starts to add up”. Tendonitis and other internal injuries can result from repetitive motion.

Loto-Québec has not acknowledged an increase in injuries stating it has not noticed them, according to a spokesman.

Breaktimes Based on Hours Worked or Per Shift

For its part, CUPE union consultant Jean-Pierre Proulx stated in a news release: “The casino is a Crown corporation that brings a lot of money into the public coffers to pay for our health and education services. We want to continue to do our part to fill those coffers, but we can no longer do so at the expense of our health. At the moment, the dispute is about 15 minutes per day of break time that the employer does not want to pay for.”

The employer states that croupiers at Montreal Casino are asking for break times to be tied to each hour worked and they want 30 minutes off for each hour worked. The casino currently provides 2 hours of break time for an 8-hour shift. However, many dealers must work six days a week to accumulate 30 hours.

The Union says the casino only wants to pay new hires at 90% of the rate of the lowest salary scale with management countering that the rate is still 20 percent above market for entry-level workers.

Loto-Quebec said that it desires a responsible negotiated agreement and referred to previous agreements referencing “similar parameters to what has been agreed to by the same CUPE-affiliated employment bodies at other Loto-Quebec casinos, including the Casino du Lac-Leamy dealers.”

Dealers at Casino du Lac-Leamy walked off the job for a day nearly a decade ago when management attempted to place “casual dealers” on a 15-minute response time.

Patrick Desjardins, vice-president of Lac-Leamy’s SCFP 3993 at the time, said: “Right now they are allowed one hour to call back for a shift, obviously, they’re not allowed to refuse a shift because they’re casual. Management wants to cut that down to 15 minutes, which is basically holding them hostage in their own house.”

That and other issues including pay rates and the swapping of shifts rather than taking a forced vacation day were settled. In January 2022 union workers there reached tentative agreements for improved working conditions. g35

Crown Casino Fined Record $80m for China Union Pay Scheme

 The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has found that Crown Casino in Melbourne facilitated illegal funds transfers from China that produced some A$32 million in revenues for the casino. The fund transfers violated both Victoria’s Casino Control Act and the laws of China.

Crown has been levied a fine of A$80 million (US$57,483,600) as a penalty and to subtract from the corporation any profits it might have made from the illegal activity. Fran Thorn, VGCCC Chair noted that Crown had cooperated with the process.

She stated: “Crown’s CUP process was a clandestine, deliberate process, which not only breached the Casino Control Act but was also devised to assist patrons to breach China’s foreign currency exchange restrictions“.

Thorn continued: “Crown was aware of the risk that the CUP process could be illegal but decided to run that risk. In doing so, it showed no regard for upholding its regulatory obligations. Indeed, it went to some lengths to hide what it was doing.”

Under a corruption crackdown from Beijing, Chinese nationals were restricted to the transfer of no more than $50,000 to another country. Crown came up with a way for their Chinese customers to get around the limitation in order to gamble and eventually lose more money.

Billed for Hotel Services, Money Used to Gamble

From 2012 through 2016, the casino property would issue ginned up receipts for various hotel services. The Chinese customers would then pay the false bill using a China Union Pay bank card and get a voucher in return. The vouchers could then be exchanged for gambling chips to play in the casino.

Crown acknowledged the scheme as a “historic failing”, and stated: “Upon becoming aware of this historical conduct, Crown’s board immediately commissioned an independent investigation and shared the findings with the Victorian royal commission, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (the predecessor to the VGCCC) and other regulators“.

“Crown’s board and senior management are committed to the delivery of a comprehensive reform and remediation program to ensure Crown delivers a safe and responsible gaming environment and continues to cooperate with the VGCCC on all matters arising from the Victorian Royal Commission Report.”

The $80m fine was record-breaking, showing the seriousness of the matter in the eyes of the VGCCC. The penalty comes close to the maximum possible fine that could be levied, which is $100m – an increase of a hundredfold from the Commission’s previous threshold of $1m that was in place until just last year.

The Commission recommended Crown be stripped of its license if it’s not able to reform by 2023. The Commission is still considering other disciplinary actions against Crown based on other violations and discrepancies that turned up in the royal commission’s findings.

Not the Only Casino in Hot Water

The Star Sydney is facing some of the same music as Crown in NSW, Victoria, and Western Australia faced recently when they were all found unsuitable to hold a casino license but were allowed to continue operating anyway, with guidance and compliance.

Public hearings have concluded that had been underway for two and a half months. Among other concerns, The Star is also seen as having cooked up a scheme to illegally transfer Chinese gambling funds into the property using China UnionPay cards.

Star is trying to get out ahead of the disciplinary portion of the exercise with several senior executives and directors including CEO Matt Bekier and Chairman John O’Neill being jettisoned ahead of the final report due at the end of August.

Some of the former directors received a tongue lashing by Naomi Sharp SC in her closing statements. Others, like former CEO Matt Bekier, received accolades for being so “frank and candid” when submitting evidence to the Commission. (카지노사이트)

Star has also suspended all international and domestic rebate play schemes.

Sharp lamented Star and Star Entertainment’s lack of a cohesive plan going forward to address their shortcomings in regard to compliance. She stated: “We submit that the evidence in the public hearing establishes that the Star is not suitable to hold the casino license and that its close associate Star Entertainment is not suitable either”. gh3