In spite Of 2020 Profit, NagaCorp Lays Off Workers
NagaCorp, a renowned Cambodian casino operator, recently sent a formal message to 600 employees about the lay-off procedure last week.
The company’s decision might be attributed due to the ongoing situations of Covid-19 restrictions and shutdowns placed in the casino industry. However, company employees noticed that the firm has reported a profit of $102.3 million in their gross gaming revenue in the year 2020.
The managing partner at iGamix, Ben Lee commented on the decision of laying off, “They have just announced the dividend payout. For a company that’s making so much money, why would they need to let go of their staff?”
According to Lee, the decision of staff lay off does not make any sense since the company recently announced the dividend payouts. Additionally, laying off workers will not make any difference in the revenue of the company since the workers only make a few hundred dollars per month.
According to the company’s announcement in April, the new layoff round follows the stricter procedure for staff cut, the company let go 1,329 workers at the Phnom Penh casino.
The casino operator maintained their reason for laying off the employees is that the casino is frequently shut down due to the Covid-19 restriction and due to consistent shut down of the venue casino operators did not ensure any profit.
However, workers argued the reason for the layoff was put up by the casino operators. Employees claimed that the layoff was meant to interfere with the union’s appearance in the venue.
Vice President of the NagaWorld Union, Chhun Sokha, claims that more than 500 workers that were laid off were union members and she commented that NagaWorld is being discriminatory.
The list of staff that the company decided to lay off includes workers who have been with the firm for decades. The list also includes pregnant women.
Sokha also claimed that the company is planning to donate $10 million to the Cambodian Government to help those affected with the Covid-19 and make significant efforts to provide required supplies. But the company is not willing to help its own workers during such a harsh scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said, “We are happy for the generosity of the company that is providing the Government with subsidies to help the Cambodian people during the Covid-19 crisis”
“This gesture is just a fake, a hoax picture because the actions that the company has taken regarding the employees – mostly women, including, pregnant women and women who have given birth – also got the company’s layoff notification.”
In January 2020, more than 3,000 NagaCorp employees went on strike demanding the company to increase 18-30% increase in their wage, later the firm agreed to increase the pay scale of the employees.
Union president Sithar claims that the Union is planning to file a complaint to the Labor Ministry. According to workers, the labor trouble was faced in a firm way before the pandemic started and the decision to lay off is unfair.