Around 30 employees of Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs are said to hold a rally on Sunday as they worry about their jobs once the new Shorelines Casino Peterborough opens in a few months. The new facility will replace the old slots parlour in Fraserville but workers claim they have not been given the opportunity to transfer to the new casino.
Workers demand that they are given clarity on this issue by the new casino operator, Great Canadian Gaming Corp. During the job fair held Thursday by the company at the Fleming CREW Employment Centre, they should have been among the hundreds of people who presented their resumes and applied for the approximately 150 positions. The 30 employees in question work in food and beverage, and security, and have contracts with the Kawartha Downs racetrack, while the gaming workers are employed by Shorelines Casino. They include cashiers, slot attendants, and other gaming floor staff.
These 130 employees have been offered positions at the new casino, which is set to open in late August or early September, Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs general manager Bryan Buchanan previously said. While their jobs are guaranteed, the 30 racetrack workers may not be transferred to the new facility. They are employed by another company, as Buchanan explains, and Great Canadian Gaming has told them that they should apply for the jobs like everyone else. The Service Employee International Union (SEIU) Local 2 Brewery General and the Professional Workers’ Union, the two unions representing these people, warn that action will be taken.
According to SEIU Local 2 business agent Ted Mansell, the jobs of 30 men and women employed by Kawartha Downs will simply vanish when the new Shorelines Casino Peterborough opens in several months. Some of them work in the facility since Day 1, since it opened its doors 18 years ago, Mansell adds. He warned that there would be a rally Saturday night and that the union was urging people to boycott the new casino until Great Canadian meet workers’ demands. Meanwhile, Bryan Buchanan said that the company has already hired four employees from the Kawartha Downs operation.
New Shorelines Casino Peterborough Preps for Grand Opening
Thursday’s job fair organized by Great Canadian Gaming Corp. was a complete success and the company wants to fill various positions, including table game supervisors, card dealers, bartenders, chefs, surveillance operators, and security officers. They will be needed for the new Shorelines Casino Peterborough which is now under construction at The Parkway and Crawford Drive. The facility is expected to open in late summer as work on the building is nearly complete. Construction work on the $49 million project started in September last year.
The new casino will offer gaming tables along with the slots transferred from the slots parlour at Kawartha Downs. It is expected to create around 150 jobs, both full-time and part-time, most of which would probably be filled soon by workers from the Shorelines Casino in Fraserville. In addition, it is estimated to generate approximately $3.2 million in annual revenues for the City of Peterborough. The casino will come with two restaurants, a hotel, and even a concert hall, which would be built at a later stage. The groundbreaking ceremony for the 100-room hotel was held on May 3. The Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton will open in May 2019 and will provide accommodation for all casino patrons, as well as for guests of the city.
