Casino Rama has been dealing smiles and relief since re-opening on Monday morning.
Robert Mitchell, director of communications and public affairs for Gateway Casinos, which operates Casino Rama and several other casinos, says customers and employees alike are happy the casino is back in business.
“It’s great to be open again,” Mitchell said. “We did get hit with a very heavy snowstorm this week and we are still digging ourselves out from that, but otherwise all things are good and we are actively working on getting the entertainment centre open.”
Amenities such as restaurants and the 'centre bar' have re-opened at the casino. Customers are also now able to have a beverage with them on the gaming floor.
“Things are good, and we are very optimistic about the future,” Mitchell said. “All the signals seem to indicate that the worst may be behind us in terms of Omicron and folks being restricted to getting out there."
Over 550 employees returned to the casino this week, while almost 300 remain laid off.
“It wasn’t that profound of an interruption this time,” Mitchell said. “It’s not as if this isn’t something we haven’t done in the past. We’ve grown quite accustomed to having to shut down.”
Greg Weaver, Unifor Local 1090 chairperson and second vice president, says "employees are excited to be back to work." However, they are still feeling unsure about the future and fear more government-mandated shutdowns.
“Pre-closure in 2020 we were in the neighbourhood of 1,170 members, now we are down to 853,” he said. “I believe the casino at some point, once restrictions are lifted and back to full capacity, will need to hire.”
Weaver expects filling the gaps left by those who found more stable jobs will be a challenge with the worker shortage.
“A lot of small businesses are struggling to get people to fill their restaurants and their stores,” he said. “It’s going to be no different here, especially in culinary where across the country everybody is looking for cooks and chefs.”
The last two years have been mentally draining on staff members, Weaver says.
“Most of them were almost laid off for two years and nearly 300 are still on layoff,” he said. “They have little to no government funding to help them out. Everybody is struggling.”
Weaver says Unifor has been negotiating with the casino to help employees financially during this difficult time.
“We were able to get them to hold onto their vacation pay so it didn’t get eaten up by the government, and now we are looking to have that released for our members,” he said. “We are constantly putting out communications as to what the government fundings are and we are giving them help with applying for them. We are always available when they call.”
Unifor has been lobbying the government to lift COVID restrictions on the casino during the entirety of the pandemic, Weaver says.
“We were lumped in with the cinemas, which we should never have been,” he said. “We are our own entity.”
