Due to the measure boosted by Hugo Chavez

Casino closure in Venezuela left around 100,000 people unemployed

2012-04-25
Reading time 1:12 min
(Venezuela).- Around 100,000 direct and indirect jobs have been lost in Venezuela with the closure of casinos and bingo halls decreed by the government of President Hugo Chávez, affirmed the Trade Union of Bingos and Casinos in Venezuela (STBCV).

“The measure left with no jobs numerous heads of families that used to work at those entertainment centers and which have been criminalized by the government”, specified Rodrigo Lanz, President of the Trade Union. Lanz pointed that, since last December, the workers of casinos and bingos that were unemployed demanded a reconsideration of the measure by the national government, and they still wait for an official answer.

The Casino National Commission closed at the end of last year most of the gambling venues and bingo halls operating in the country, and revoked the records and authorizations issued so far, leaving just those located in five-star hotels.

Lanz said that the closure was justified in the debts accumulated between 2003 and 2009 due to royalties and fines that made us$ 144,405,091. However, also solvent companies were closed.

“Many youngsters that used to work in those gambling centers paid their studies with the salary and the tips they received and now they were forced to abandon their university studies, because the possibilities of incorporating to the labour market are limited”, he said.

He also pointed that the authorities that have pretended to criminalize the activity of bingos and casinos, associating it with money laundering, and with the fact that in the Law against Organized Crime bingos and casinos appear as subject to control.

Lanz announced that the trade union he heads wnt this week to the National Casino Commission, attached to the Ministry of Interior and Justice, in order to demand the reconsideration of the measure that left more than 100,000 workers unemployed.

Leave your comment
Subscribe to our newsletter
Enter your email to receive the latest news
By entering your email address, you agree to Yogonet's Condiciones de uso and Privacy Policies. You understand Yogonet may use your address to send updates and marketing emails. Use the Unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
Unsubscribe
EVENTS CALENDAR