The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) said in a statement today that it and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) had received "no information whatsoever" that Macau's gaming operators were urging their staff to take unpaid holidays, apparently due to the novel coronavirus crisis that is understood to have resulted in a dramatic downturn in casino receipts.
According to the statement, neither has the Labour Affairs Bureau received any complaints from gaming industry employees about the matter.
The statement came in the wake of rumours that some of the city's six gaming operators were "forcing" some of their staff to take unpaid holidays in the wake of the deteriorating economic situation in Macau in the wake of the Wuhan virus threat.
However, the Labour Affairs Bureau said it was "worried" about the matter and would monitor the situation with the aim of protecting workers' rights in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, the government announced yesterday that owing to the novel coronavirus menace the public administration would only run its "basic and urgent" services next week. Speaking at a daily press conference about the government's ongoing fight against the Wuhan virus, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U said that "non-essential" personnel should stay at home next week to reduce the risk of infection with the virus.
The government had already extended civil servants' Chinese New Year holiday by two days this week, yesterday and today.
