Miriam wants City of Dreams probed over worker suspensions

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago wants the Senate to look into the report that some 100 workers at City of Dreams Manila would be suspended amid profit losses.

Santiago’s filing of Senate Resolution 1520 was prompted by the reported plan of casino operator Melco Crown Resorts corporation, which runs City of Dreams Manila, to suspend its workers due to alleged losses that “widened” in June, owing to higher costs and a slowdown in the influx of clients.

The casino operator’s filings with the Philippine Stock Exchange purportedly showed consolidated comprehensive loss of P1.82 billion from April to June 2015, 27 percent higher than its P1.43-billion loss in the same period in 2014.

“The losses were allegedly due to gaming tax and license fees; inventories consumed; employee benefit expenses; depreciation and amortization; other expenses; payments to the Philippine parties; interest expenses; other finance fees; and amortization of deferred financing costs,” the resolution said.

The employment of the affected employees will reportedly resume when business improves.

But Santiago warned that the casino operator might be setting a “precedent for other employers and business owners to suspend workers when convenient, with utter disregard for these workers’ rights.”

“It is the duty of the government to protect workers from abusive practices of their employers,” she said in the resolution.

Santiago said Congress, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Employment and other concerned agencies, “must strengthen existing legislation to prevent unwarranted suspension of workers.”