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Now that land casinos are set to reopen, we would understand the current rise in concern. Casino workers around the world are reluctant to go back to work for fear of catching the COVID-19 virus.
This is reasonable considering that over 3 million people have contracted the virus worldwide. Additionally, over 270,000 people have succumbed to the virus worldwide in a space of 6 months.
After almost 3 months of lockdown, most countries are now slowly opening their business sectors. However, not everyone will be going back to work. Most industries have scaled down on workers and other companies have completely shut down.
For example, over 4000 casino employees alone have lost their jobs in Australia. While others are being called, payment has been cut down for most casino board members by 30% or more.
Still, the returnees are not really excited about going back to work. There is concern about whether their interaction with clients can leave them exposed to COVID-19.
Casino Workers Union Raises Concern
The casino workers in Las Vegas, Unite Here Union, have highlighted that 95% of their members are still to get their jobs back. The casino employees union is currently representing over 300,000 workers in the casino industry. Of these, only 100,000 workers are going back to work.
Most of the idle workers are surviving on government grants. However, credit is given to Wynn Resorts for paying their idle workers during the shutdown.
With some casinos losing about 30 million dollars per day, most commercial casinos in the US are rushing to open as soon as they get permission. But, the workers still fear that if their employers are not well prepared, their health might be at great risk.
Casinos to be Guided on Operational Restrictions
Casino workers unions are now coming up with strict working conditions to protect their members. However, some casinos have already established the safety measure they intend to put in place to protect their workers.
However, the unions feel there is a need to impose further restrictions. Also, these are supposed to be followed by all the casino establishments.
Additionally, the main concern is for the smoking casino players. According to research done by the World Health Organization, smokers are more vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus. And, they also happen to cough a lot; hence their chances of spreading the virus are high.
Conclusion
While the story of casino workers is still evolving, we surely hope that there will be the establishment of safe working conditions. A lot of casinos in Australia are still to publish what they intend to do about the safety of their workers. Meanwhile, gamblers can still count on online pokies for safe risk-free real money gaming conditions.