State Casinos union considers general strike over conflict impasse
The tension between the National Association of State Casino Employees (ANFUCE) and the National Casino Directorate continues to rise, with no signs of agreement between the parties. The union is considering the possibility of a total strike in all public gaming halls in the country, in response to what they consider a deterioration of working conditions and a lack of institutional dialogue.
Claims regarding collective bargaining and director's statements
The union leader Cecilia Alegre, one of the main voices in the conflict, stated that the general director of State Casinos, Fernando Estévez, does not respect collective bargaining. According to ANFUCE, during recent dialogue sessions, Estévez went as far as to call the workers “schizophrenics,” which deepened the unrest within the union.
The union maintains that the authorities have made unilateral decisions and point to the submission of the latest budget as an example, which “substantially modifies working conditions and eliminates grades in the pay scales, without prior negotiation with the majority union.”
Online gambling, another focal point of conflict
A central element of the confrontation is the growth of the online betting and gambling market in Uruguay. For ANFUCE, excluding workers from the discussion about the new regulation represents a serious risk.
Alegre argues that preventing the union’s participation in designing the online system blocks opportunities for job retraining and “puts at risk the very source of employment” of those who have developed technical expertise in gaming modalities, gambling addiction control, and money laundering prevention.
The Association emphasized that online gambling must be addressed “in an integrated manner, with clear objectives and unified exploitation criteria,” and that the State should not proceed without including the specialized workers of the sector.
Accusations about a project developed “behind employees’ backs”
The union claims that the authorities are preparing a proposal to regulate online gambling without consulting the employees in the area and, allegedly, in coordination with private operators. This concern arises after Estévez confirmed that the government plans to present a bill to regulate betting and online gambling during the first half of next year.
In this scenario, ANFUCE asserts that it will defend both the participation of workers in the regulatory discussion and the preservation of working conditions within the state casino system.
Tags: Uruguay, State Casinos, Uruguay online casinos, online casino regulation Uruguay