THEY were hired in July to work at the Marina Bay Sands casino. But the year is ending and some recruits have yet to be trained for their jobs as dealers and croupiers.
A few are jobless as well - they quit their previous jobs expecting the casino training to start in October. They say they were told by Sands to leave their jobs and be ready to be called up for training.
The training was to last three months, during which they would be paid. The basic pay for a trainee dealer is $1,500 a month; the pay is $1,800 for those working full-time.
At least 20 employees are grousing online about being left in the lurch. The Straits Times spoke to seven, who declined to be named for fear of jeopardising their jobs.
They admitted that their letters of appointment had not specified a starting date, but all claimed they had been told verbally that training was likely to begin in October.
A man in his 30s, hired as a dealer, said: 'I was told to send in my resignation early if I needed to serve three months' notice.'
But since stopping work in September, he is still waiting for the call to start training. He is living on his savings.
In the same boat is a 23-year-old who graduated from university in April. She said: 'I cannot even take up proper part-time work as I don't dare to commit to the minimum two or three months required.'
The lack of word from their new employer raises questions about when the integrated resort will open. It was initially slated to open at the end of this year, but the opening has been pushed back to some time in the first quarter, end-March at the latest, because of construction woes and labour shortages.
With no sign of their training beginning, the integrated resort's new staff are wondering exactly when it will open.
When contacted, a Marina Bay Sands spokesman confirmed that training had not begun and declined to say how many people had been hired. Sands has previously said some 4,500 workers are required in the casino.
Asked if there had been a verbal agreement on the training date, the spokesman would only say: 'We have issued employment agreements to successful applicants, with the mutual agreement that the starting date for training depends on the opening date of our property.
'As we continue to make good progress on our SkyPark and overall construction, we look to set a training commencement date at the earliest possible time.'
A copy of an employment agreement obtained by The Straits Times states: 'I understand that my work commencement date will be communicated to me on a later date subject to the opening date of Marina Bay Sands.'
Other employees hired later in the year said they were told they would be given a month's notice on the start of training.
Said a 22-year-old hired in November: 'It is already December, and the training is to take three months. If they are to give us one month's notice, we will not make it in time for March.'
Member of Parliament Charles Chong, deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, said even though they had only verbal agreements, it was not fair to keep people guessing as to when they would start work.
It is especially bad for those who need the income to support their families, he added. 'How long can you keep people waiting?'
In contrast to the dilemma faced by Marina Bay Sands employees, employment contracts for Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), the other integrated resort, clearly spell out work and training start dates.
Some 600 dealers have already been trained at the parent company's other casinos in the Philippines and Malaysia. The training started in August.
Several hundred are also being trained in Singapore, RWS spokesman Robin Goh said, adding that the resort is on track for a soft opening early in the new year.
Industry experts say employees have to be trained to be licensed to work in a casino. And without trained employees, a licence to operate a casino cannot be issued. Both casinos applied for their licences in October.
When asked, the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) declined to comment on whether either had been awarded yet. But its spokesman said: 'The casino operators are required under Section 81(1)(c) of the Casino Control Act to provide the CRA with a certification of the applicant's competency to perform the specific special employee function(s) before CRA approves the special employee licence.'
- The Straits Times
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