Casino Workers Protest in Coquimbo Over Contract Negotiations

Workers from the Gaming Tables union at the Enjoy casino in Coquimbo staged a protest on Friday, June 6th, inside the casino during operating hours, with customers present. The demonstration involved signs and megaphones.

According to local reports, the workers displayed banners with the message “Our rights are not a game.” Union leader Francisco Muñoz accused the casino management of “unfair negotiation” that offered fewer benefits, citing the difficult economic situation the company faces.

Negotiations between the workers and casino authorities began in mid-May, aiming to agree on salary increases and maintain the 37-hour work week. These discussions followed Enjoy’s official request to relinquish its operating license as part of its financial restructuring.

Muñoz explained, “We knew the company’s situation wasn’t good, so we created a collective agreement, a very grounded contract proposal where we focused on reinforcing things we already had, issues we had been working on before, and also some specific salary adjustment situations.”

“On Thursday [June 5th], they made the final offer, and we were surprised that, in addition to not giving us anything, they were taking away benefits that we had achieved in previous years of negotiation,” he stated.

In response, the union leader announced that they would seek to file a complaint for unfair labor practices in the negotiation and did not rule out a worker vote on the possibility of initiating a strike.

“We cannot accept a contract that has setbacks in everything we have achieved in these ten years of negotiation,” the union leader concluded.