One of the employees, Jack Winner, even sent a letter to Orilia’s mayor, Steve Clarke, to find a solution.
Casino Rama is run by Gateway Casino & Entertainment, which has a huge financial impact on the region as it brings in millions of tax game revenues. The game company announced that the decision to suspend the shuttle service was due to a sharp drop in passenger numbers over the past two years.
In a letter to the mayor, Mr. Winner explains that he and other employees at the Orilia casino do not expect the operator to reverse the decision and bring the shuttle back. It also elaborated on the negative impact of the service outage, saying nearly 100 employees were affected by the sudden shutdown.
In a request to the city, he points out that he is looking for an alternative transportation service to replace gaming amenities, but neither he nor his staff are looking for a discount service. He argues that most employees will be satisfied with CA$20 a day. He also reminded the mayor that when the casino started, there was a free shuttle for both employees and customers.
Rob Mitchell, head of communications and public affairs at the operator, noted that he had decided to shut down the shuttle due to a drop in passenger numbers. The corporation tried to save the program by introducing nominal fees, but it was not enough to cover the cost due to the small number of users. According to him, less than 60 people used the shuttle.
Steve Batchelor, the national representative of Unifor Local 1090, which represents most of the property’s employees, also claimed that the cancellation had a negative impact on employees. It shared that the number of affected union members was around 34, and said the employer was not contractually obligated to provide such shuttle services to union members.
Earlier this year, Unipo 1090 and Casino Lamar agreed on a new and improved collective contract for union members. The new contract will run over the next three years and will give employees a 9.5% pay rise during the new contract period. It also includes improvements in benefits and a 50% reduction in insurance premiums for part-time workers.동행복권파워볼
Happy to be back
In early January, Ontario shut down several social businesses, including casinos, for more than a month. Casino Lamar was one of the places affected by the closure, but the casino reopened on January 31, 2022. And despite the suspension, the atmosphere of the accommodation was good because both the staff and the customers were happy to be back.