Brisbane Star Entertainment casino workers strike over pay negotiations amid ongoing financial woes

Star Entertainment casino workers take protected industrial action after Star failed to bring a "reasonable offer" to the bargaining table.

Transcript

00:00Star struck by yet another scandal.

00:05We'll never be defeated!

00:07Queen's Wharf workers walking off the job this afternoon,

00:10the culmination of a dispute over wages.

00:13What do we want? 6%!

00:15When do we want it? Now!

00:16There's a 4% pay offer on the table,

00:20but that comes along with cuts to penalty rates on Sunday.

00:25Those cuts to penalty rates will have the biggest impact

00:29on the lowest paid workers.

00:31Impacted are some 2,000 Brisbane-based workers.

00:34For my position, I'm like a bartender here.

00:36I get paid about 60 cents above minimum wage.

00:38If I was doing literally the exact same job at the Star Sydney,

00:41I'd be getting almost $2 an hour more.

00:43Not enough, staff say, amid a cost-of-living crisis.

00:46In a statement to the ABC,

00:48Star says it's been flexible, diligent and measured

00:51in making an offer that adds wage growth for team members

00:54whilst absolutely stretching the financials of the business,

00:58adding the group is disappointed that protected industrial action

01:02will be taken.

01:03This impacts all visitors that arrive to the Star Brisbane

01:06seeking memorable hospitality experiences.

01:09The last three offers were also supposedly at their limit.

01:12So, like, you'll forgive me if I don't exactly believe the company.

01:15The strike is just the latest blow for Star executives.

01:19Earlier this week, two major investors threatened to withdraw from Medill

01:23to bail out the embattled casino.

01:25Creating yet more insecurity for Star's lowest paid workers.

01:29We just want workers to have a job.

01:31And they have every right to be able to have that work.

01:34They have every right to be able to speak up.

01:37The workers shouldn't be impacted because of bad decisions made in boardrooms.

01:40And we just want that operation to stay open.

01:44player or in the future were only empty in the early Yep.

01:54The game is whether or not the player sees what the leader has to live in the competition.

01:56It's how long it's going on to be able to keep up by the draft is the games

02:01as the high safety of the champions,

02:03if there's elite players, it is, the employees, or the players.

02:06The players have to buy these goals if they were able to have a function.