From January 2009, all Macau permanent residents working in casinos will be obliged to wear identity tags to identify their immigration and labour status.
The Macau government says the measure will protect local workers from discrimination. Several commentators think the government suspects there are people from Mainland China working in casinos and passing themselves off as permanent residents. By law, citizens of the People’s Republic cannot work in gaming areas, though they can be employed in the hotel and non-gaming retail components of casino resorts.
Another potential snag is that the ID system could reportedly breach conventions on human rights to which Macau has already signed under the terms of its mini constitution as a Special Administrative Region of China. This document is known as the Basic Law.
The Macau government hopes the ID scheme will reassure local labour unions concerned that foreign casino workers are being given preferential treatment over locals in terms of promotion and salary.
Other observers point out that because the government insists all card dealers must be locals, casino operators dare not transfer or promote them to better jobs for fear of not being able to replace them.
According to local media reports, the ID rules will not be part of any formal regulations. Macau’s six licensed casino operators are understood to be planning to introduce the identification requirement in different ways. All casino staff at the MGM Grand Macau, for example, will be required to wear a badge displaying the flag of their country of origin, while workers at Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Macao will only be required to wear ID tags if they are local residents.
An academic says the move would be vulnerable to legal challenge in the courts.
“It is greatly concerning and a discriminatory measure that goes against the notion of human dignity,” said Duarte Santos, of the Faculty of Law at the University of Macau, in comments reported by Portuguese-language local media.
“Imposing [identification badges] on gaming floor workers violates the principle of equal treatment of residents and non-residents
as guaranteed by article 43 of Macau’s constitution.”
Mr Santos suggested that introducing such a measure could in itself be unconstitutional.
“The government cannot regulate on this issue [without approval]. Fundamental rights are at stake [and] a measure of this nature would always have to be passed by the Legislative Assembly,” he added.
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