Casino workers docked pay after poker game eliminated

After a casino eliminated the game of poker, it issued layoff notices to 43 employees and reduced their rates immediately — a move that an arbitrator found was partly against the collective agreement.

Starlight Casino in New Westminster, B.C., was in the middle of negotiations for a new collective agreement with its union, the British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU) when the notices were issued.

The BCGEU filed a grievance alleging there was no shortage of work. However, the employer showed revenue from poker was trending down from 2012 as online gaming became more popular and drove up competition.

The number of tables was reduced from nine to three, but the collective agreement did not address what would happen if the game was eliminated entirely. The union did not dispute the employer’s right to discontinue poker, however, it argued that it could not reduce wages, as such action would violate the pay structure negotiated by both parties.

However, the casino argued the layoffs occurred as it reorganized and eliminated classifications, and a wage classification or structure was not an impediment to an employer’s exercising of its management rights to reorganize.

While arbitrator Mark Brown agreed the employer was well within its rights to eliminate poker, there was no evidence that showed loss of hours due to a shortage of work, reorganization, closure or other material change in the operation.

"There is no doubt that poker revenue was falling. The employer decided to move resources to other games by eliminating poker. However, this reorganization did not lead to a shortage of work or loss of hours of work," Brown said in his decision. "All the impacted dealers continued to work the same shift and schedule."

Those who were moved around would have to be paid according to the schedule, he said.

He added that the employer could eliminate the game but could not unilaterally amend the collective agreement’s payment structure, which was based on employee’s merit and training level.