The manpower crunch has affected Singapore, and employers have had to offer incentives to new hires in order to make sure their staff remains with them, using pay raises to sweeten the deal.

This is reportedly the case at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino, where new employees have allegedly been given significantly higher pay raises than workers who have been employed longer. This has, understandably, caused dissatisfaction among older colleagues.

According to Shin Min Daily News (SMDN), some newer hires reportedly received a pay adjustment between S$300 to S$400, while the ones who have been around longer got either none or a very small salary raise.

One older employee started a petition on the change.org platform.

The petitioner, “Senior Staff,” wrote, “Working in the company for more this 10 years but when comes to pay adjustment we all senior staff do not get anything at all. What you mean by we have hit the ceiling pay whereby you do not calculate the year of service your staff have been working for you. Only just an appreciation bonus for all the staff even newcomers have the bonus. So senior staff don’t worth a penny?”

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The petition was started on June 4 and has been gaining traction. To date, 444 people have signed it.

One senior staff, aged 34, told Shin Min that her basic salary is S$2,690 and that she’s been a casino dealer for over nine years. In March, she was told that she would be given a salary adjustment of S$10. This upset her so much that she applied for a three-day sick leave.

She also told the Chinese-language daily that other staff who have been working for a shorter time got pay increases between S$300 and S$400, resulting in salaries of up to S$2,200. A number of these employees only signed on as casino workers from one month to six months ago.

The senior staff told Shin Min that she thinks RWS gave the newer workers a pay bump because a rival establishment has been poaching workers, and management wanted to hold on to their recent hires. 

Employees who have been around longer, on the other hand, have had pay raises of less than S$100 over the past years, another senior worker told Shin Min.

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Additionally, they did not get a S$300 allowance nor a recent salary increase because of the Covid pandemic. 

“Those who have worked for over nine years got either a S$10 pay adjustment or none at all. 

Staff who has worked for four to five years received a S$300 to S$400 adjustment and are now earning S$2,400 to S$2,500 a month. That’s a 20 to 25 per cent increase,” the senior worker told Shin Min.

This worker, identified simply as Lin, also asked for sick leave because she was so upset. Her husband also works at RWS. He is a casino supervisor who’s been employed there for 12 years. He has felt “hurt and disappointed” at not having received a pay raise when they were given out recently.

“Some new staff who were promoted to supervisor have a basic salary of S$3,100, but those of us who have worked for over a decade only have a basic salary of S$3,200,” he told Shin Min.

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Other senior workers have also called in sick, which has reportedly affected the operations at the casino.

A spokesperson for RWS said that hiring has been ongoing in preparation for more guests coming in as pandemic restrictions ease.

Salaries, they said, have been reviewed to “keep pace with market demand”.

They added that for casino dealers, the company has started a monthly stipend and that “gratitude” bonuses are in the offing for “eligible staff.”

The spokesperson added that “the salaries of casino staff increased by 12 per cent on average… Our staff members are our most precious asset, and we believe in rewarding and recognising excellent performance and contributions.” /TISG

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