Hemingways Casino staff are still frozen in a retrenchment limbo as the casino awaits word on whether its licence has been extended.
By Thursday October 1 the Eastern Cape Gambling Board had neither announced a final decision nor issued a renewed temporary licence.
Their phone went to an automated message taker and a request for comment had not been attended to by print deadline. A follow-up call later in the day was transferred to an extension where it rang and rang.
But even if the casino is granted a short-time licence to continue operations, the company says it plans to go ahead with shedding dozens of jobs it deems redundant.
Tsogo Sun Gaming, the parent company operating the Hemingways Casino, announced last month that 277 employees’ jobs were under threat, which was when the casino warned it could be forced to close if its operating licence was not extended or renewed before the September 25 deadline.
However, it said, beyond the licence question, 74 workers could still lose their jobs as the operator pushes ahead with a restructuring aimed at cutting costs and eliminating positions it considers redundant at one of KuGompo City’s biggest entertainment and hospitality complexes.
The company has begun a large-scale retrenchment consultation, telling employees that it cannot continue operating the casino without a valid licence.
Last month several meetings were held outside the formal Section 189 retrenchment process.
Target Orientated Trade Union of SA (Totrusa) secretary-general Jeff Maleni, the sole representative of the affected employees, accused the casino’s management of providing vague and incomplete information during consultations.
Maleni had earlier said Totrusa would seek legal advice and push for greater transparency before any jobs were cut.
“What we cannot get is the impact in this process and in terms of their retrenchment deadline,” he said.
“We were told that their licence has been extended by three months."
Tsogo Sun has applied for Zone 1 and 2 casino licences through the Eastern Cape Gambling Board process. Zone 1 is Nelson Mandela Bay and Zone 2, BCM.
Maleni said the casino’s management announced during the latest meeting that its operating licence had been extended but this could not be confirmed and the EC Gambling Board's website still reflects the expiry date as September 25.
Directly above that entry on the gambling board's web page, The Boardwalk Casino in Gqeberha's licence expiry date reflects as June 30. In a call to the Boardwalk Casino, the switchboard transferred the call, supposedly to the GM, but it was never picked up.
Earlier, Maleni had said the union was of the view that consultations had been initiated prematurely and that management had failed to provide adequate explanations on key issues raised by workers.
“There seems to be a lot of things they have not considered and their response is very vague.
“It contains words like ‘maybe’ or ‘possibly’, which we can’t accept.
“We told them if they can’t unpack their own letter, we will meet with our labour desk to legally source the information they are not giving us.
“We will formulate a legal approach to this thing and then call a general meeting to hear their responses on October 1.
“We will then be able to report thoroughly to staff,” Maleni said.
Despite acknowledging questions, Tsogo Sun did not comment by the time of publication.
The retrenchment consultations are taking place in terms of Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, which requires employers contemplating dismissals to engage in a meaningful joint consensus-seeking process with affected employees and their representatives.
The dispute is expected to move to a second round of consultations before a labour commissioner, where the union hopes to obtain more detailed answers.
Maleni said workers were particularly concerned about management’s reference to 74 positions that could potentially be affected by the restructuring process.
He said employees wanted a clear breakdown of how the company had arrived at the figure, which departments would be affected and what alternatives to retrenchment had been considered.
According to Maleni, the union has also requested audited financial statements covering the previous two financial years after management cited financial pressures as part of the rationale for the proposed restructuring.
“They just gave us a vague graph. We’re not their staff; they should give us something concrete,” he said.
Maleni said consultations were far from over and that at least three further meetings had already been scheduled.
The company in its internal statement to staff said a review found several positions were duplicated, inefficient or no longer necessary.
Food and beverage operations face the heaviest cuts, including 15 waitrons, seven commis chefs, four food and beverage supervisors, four general assistants, four cashiers, three bartenders and three gaming-floor officers.
Three payroll supervisors are also earmarked for cuts, along with gaming technicians, surveillance specialists and operators, security supervisors, guest relations attendants, maintenance attendants, gaming ambassadors and several management and administrative posts.
Tsogo Sun said management currently saw few alternatives to retrenchments but remained willing to consider proposals from employees and their representatives.
In documents submitted to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, the company confirmed that no employees had been retrenched for operational reasons during the past 12 months.
Hemingways Casino forms part of the wider Hemingways complex, which includes a hotel, conference facilities, restaurants and retail outlets.
Of the five casinos in the province, only Hemingways and Boardalk were yet to receive long-term licences.
Mthatha’s Mayfair Casino licence expires in 2038, while Bizana’s Wild Coast Sun Resort and Casino licence expires in August 2041.
The Gambling board on Thursday could not confirm or deny the casino had been granted a short-term licence.
ECGB confirmed a receipt of applications for both Zone 1 and Zone 2 casino licence opportunities.
“The board is currently seized with the adjudication process in line with its statutory mandate under the Eastern Cape Gambling Act and applicable regulations.
“The process is rigorous, confidential and subject to probity and due diligence requirements.
“Until such time as the board has concluded its deliberations and the necessary regulatory approvals are obtained, no further details can be disclosed.”
It said relevant announcements would be made in due course through official channels.
ECGB chief executive and Gaming Regulators Africa Forum president Mabutho Zwane said in June that rapid growth in online betting and mobile gambling was creating new challenges for regulators.
“The biggest challenge facing regulators today is the speed at which the industry is evolving, particularly in digital and mobile environments.
“Technology is reshaping gaming faster than traditional regulatory systems were designed to respond,” he said.
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