Job losses in Nelson Mandela Bay are piling up, with the once-thriving Port Elizabeth Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World starting a retrenchment process for dozens of workers.
This is after the Eastern Cape Gambling Board granted permission to the company in August to down-scale its 652 employees by 20%.
The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World has since it applied for the permission in 2017 lost 76 people through resignations, retirements and for other reasons and now employs 576 people – which means that, in the end, 54 people stand to lose their jobs.
The workers have already been issued with letters stating the reasons behind the retrenchments.
Nelson Mandela Bay has been hit by a series of job cuts since the start of the year.
Dozens of staff at Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism are set to lose their jobs along with 600 security workers following the municipality’s decision to cancel its contract with security firm M Secure.
Eastern Cape Gambling Board spokesperson Pumeza George said anapplication to reduce the number of staff at the Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World from 652 to 400 had been rejected.
“The conditions prescribed that the number of permanent employees may not drop below 90% of the 652 permanent employees.
“The board granted an amendment to the conditions by reducing the aforesaid requirement to 80% of the total number of permanent employees,” she said.
The board received the application late in 2017 from coowners Emfuleni Resorts to alter their Boardwalk licence – which would have resulted in 252 job losses.
But George said the amendment was subject to conditions relating to the submission of a revised organisational structure and a retrenchment proposal for all affected employees.
“The board and the Boardtalks walk are involved in a dispute relating to this decision and no further details can be provided at this stage.”
In 2000, Sun International and Emfuleni originally invested more than R500m to build the Boardwalk and a further R1bn to extend its licence thereafter.
Sun International spokesperson Zoleka Skweyiya said the retrenchments were due to dwindling revenue and the impact of mushrooming bingo terminals on the city’s gambling industry.
“We therefore have no choice but to proceed with this process in an effort to reduce operating costs,” she said.
“Since our application we have tried, wherever possible, not to replace any staff who may have resigned or retired, which could reduce the potential number of job losses.”
Skweyiya was unable to give a specific figure on how many staff members would lose their jobs. “We are still in with the union,” she said.
Skweyiya said the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union had been issued with a section 189 notification letter in December.
The letter is meant to explain the reasons behind retrenchments.
“A consultation process with employees whose positions are affected was started in December, and they were issued with letters informing them,” Skweyiya said.
SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union regional leaders will meet on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the retrenchments.
The Boardwalk union’s shop steward, Loyiso Thomas, said: “We are very clear on our position.
“They [The Boardwalk management] were not given the right to restructure the whole unit but only surveillance and security.”
He said this detail was contained in a letter from the board to the union, which stated: “That the application in terms of the Eastern Cape Gambling rules to restructure the surveillance and security departments . . . be approved.”
Thomas said when looking at the new licence amendment agreement, 54 employees were in the retrenchment line.
“But we will fight against all retrenchments. Especially for our members.”
Staff at the Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World said it had been a busy December, which they hoped would put the retrenchments on the back burner.
One staff member described the retrenchments as scary.
“We had a good December so I am hopeful they stop this nonsense,” he said. “A lot of us will suffer if they go ahead.”
Another employee said: “It’s scary. We don’t even know what’s going on anymore. We just sit hear and wait to hear if we must not come to work.”
Meanwhile, construction on a R1.3bn multipurpose mall development at The Boardwalk – scheduled to start in September – has yet to begin.
Sun Boardwalk general manager Mike van Vuuren announced the facelift in March 2018, but Skweyiya confirmed construction had yet to start.
Scores of jobs are expected to be created during the construction phase at the complex and the independent tenants who occupy the new mall were also expected to generate a substantial number of jobs.
The development would have seen some wholesale changes in the complex, including a reduction in the size of the central lake, alongside which a new Sun Park would be positioned.
Described as a state-of-theart, highly adaptable exhibition and events area, the Sun Park is expected to complement and increase the Boardwalk’s convention and conference offerings and operations.
“We are in discussion with possible tenants,” Skweyiya said.
“It is important to get the mix of tenants right ... and to factor in their spatial and other requirements as this impacts on the feasibility and funding of the development.
“The budget remains the same. However, construction costs are never constant and have a bearing on the process of assessing costs,” she said.
“It is therefore crucial to finalise tenant negotiations as soon as possible.”