With the Melbourne Cup drawing near, staff at Crown Casino are threatening a walkout.
The work stoppage is scheduled to commence on Saturday, coinciding with Victoria Derby Day, and persist until Monday, the day before the Melbourne Cup. The workforce is advocating for a revised enterprise agreement encompassing equitable yearly salary adjustments, enhanced overtime compensation for weekends and holidays, more balanced rostering to enhance work-life harmony, and wage increases linked to years of service. Numerous long-serving personnel, including an individual named Deb Lipscombe, emphasize that escalating living expenses make a salary hike and improved terms imperative. They’ve expressed anxieties about their personal finances, highlighting the growing costs of food, commuting, and vehicle storage.
As per the labor union alliance, the vote outcome empowered all union affiliates to engage in the strike, potentially encompassing 3,600 individuals. Nevertheless, Crown initially contested this number, asserting that only 1,700 employees qualified. Following further explanation, Crown adjusted the figure of eligible employees to roughly 3,100. The industrial action is anticipated to transpire in four-hour intervals between 6pm and 10pm on Saturday, 10am and 2pm on Sunday, and 6pm and 10pm on Monday.
Despite continuing discussions, discrepancies persist concerning the quantity of personnel permitted to partake in the strike.