Melco Resorts has been ordered to stop work on the fifth floor of luxury hotel Morpheus at City of Dreams following the death of a female worker on site on Sunday.
In a statement released late Monday, Macau’s Labour Affairs Bureau said that Melco would only be allowed to resume construction of the applicable section of Morpheus, which is due to open in May, once it had provided “detailed reports on the accident” and taken measures to improve worker safety.
It also revealed that the deceased worker was “neither a local resident nor a legitimate foreign employee” and promised to further investigate Melco’s administrative responsibilities. This latest incident coming just eight months after a 33-year-old construction worker was struck by a beam and killed on the same site.
“The office is highly concerned about this accident,” the Labour Affairs Bureau said in its statement. “To protect the safety of other workers, the Bureau has immediately ordered the contractor to stop all work on the fifth floor of the site. It must comprehensively rectify the safety conditions of the work and provide detailed reports on accidents. After approval, it can be resumed.
“With regard to the occurrence of illegal foreign employees in the construction site, the office will follow up on its own powers and seriously investigate the relevant party’s administrative responsibilities. The office emphasizes that if employers want to employ foreign employees to work in Macau, they must follow the law and deal with them in a lawful manner.”
Melco Resorts provided IAG with a statement of its own on Monday, expressing sorrow for the tragedy and promising to work with authorities in their investigations.
“We confirm that there has been an incident at the new hotel construction site, managed by our construction contractor,” Melco said. “There was a female worker involved in the incident who has sadly passed away. Our thoughts are with her and her family.
“We are currently focused on providing assistance to our construction contractor and cooperating with local authorities to ensure a full and thorough investigation is conducted.”
The worker reportedly fell to her death when the floor beneath her collapsed while she was painting a ceiling.
The tragedy represents the third time in the past 12 months that a worker has died while working on one of Macau’s casino resorts, including the previous Morpheus incident last July. A month earlier, in June 2017, work was stopped on SJM’s Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai after a 47-year-old man fell 10 meters to his death.
In total, five construction workers were killed in Macau in 2017.
Addressing the broader issue, the Labour Department said it “will step up inspections and continue to inspect whether employees have effective occupational safety cards and conduct a comprehensive inspection of all safety measures at all sites.
“It also appeals to owners of construction sites to strictly monitor their entry and allow only qualified personnel to enter the market.”
