| WHAT | Press conference: Union representatives address media regarding ongoing enterprise agreement negotiations at Crown Melbourne. |
| WHERE | Crown Melbourne, Yarra Promenade, near Crown Tower, Queens Bridge Street, Melbourne |
| WHO | Andrew Jones, Director Casinos and Clubs, United Workers Union |
| WHEN | 11:00am, 31 December 2025 |
New Year’s Eve celebrations for tens of thousands of Victorians are set to be thrown into chaos after Crown failed to reach agreement with its workforce, leaving thousands of casino workers preparing to walk off the job as the clock counts down to midnight. With Victoria’s biggest party night tonight – Crown’s refusal to abandon its pay cuts for new workers has turned the countdown to 2026 into a flashpoint with workers walking out for fairness and job security.
Casino workers will take protected industrial action on New Year’s Eve after voting to reject a proposal that would permanently cut pay for new workers doing the same job by between $10,600 and $32,000 a year.
Thousands of workers at Crown Melbourne, members of United Workers Union (UWU), have voted to take industrial action after the company sought to introduce a two-tier wage system that would see future hires paid between 16 per cent and 32 per cent less than existing workers for identical roles.
The action follows the overwhelming rejection of Crown’s proposed main enterprise agreement by workers in a ballot held between 12 and 16 December. Of the 4,302 eligible voters, 3,843 workers (89 per cent) participated in the vote, with an emphatic 3,352 workers, or 87 per cent, voting No to reject Crown’s proposal.
UWU Casinos Director Andrew Jones said negotiations over the casino’s main worker agreement have been ongoing since May 2025 and cover approximately 4,500 workers across the property.
He said UWU bargaining representatives met with Crown on 22 December and again on 29 and 30 December in an effort to reach an agreement and avoid disruption. Despite three days of talks after workers rejected the Crown’s proposal, the company refused to remove the two-tier wage system, leaving workers with no option but to take action.
On Tuesday 23rd December, members voted over 97 per cent in favour of taking protected action, this includes work stoppages of between one hour and 24 hours, with no limit to the number of times they can strike. Strike action will take place on NYE – December 31 – with workers across the casino stopping work from 10pm until 2am, right through the New Year’s Eve countdown.
The industrial action will involve workers covered by two separate Crown Melbourne enterprise agreements; the Crown Melbourne Limited Enterprise Agreement (covering around 4,500 workers) and the Surveillance and Management Enterprise Agreement (covering around 600 workers), after the company failed to reach an agreement with either workforce. In total, more than 5,000 workers are covered by both agreements and members are preparing to act on New Years Eve.
This underscores the company’s inability to resolve bargaining across the casino.
The key sticking point across both the Managers and Surveillance Agreements is Crown’s insistence on introducing structural changes that erode established pay relativities and conditions, without offering commensurate increases or protections under the Main Crown Melbourne Limited Enterprise Agreement.
“This is a pay cut for people doing the same job. That is the issue at the heart of this dispute,” Mr Jones said.
“The company is pushing a model that encourages cheaper new hires over retaining skilled and experienced staff, and our members are not having it.
“Overwhelmingly workers have shown they are not prepared to pay for the incompetence of Crown’s management.
“Under Crown’s proposal, a new-hire Level 1 casino worker would be paid $28.84 an hour after 1 July, while a continuing worker on the same level would be paid $34.22 an hour. That is more than $10,600 a year less for identical work. At higher levels, the pay cut grows to as much as 32 per cent.”
Mr Jones said the proposal would undermine job security and impose steep cuts on many casual and part-time workers.
“Our members are thinking about the long-term, and they are thinking about the future they want for the people responsible for the success of Australia’s largest single-site entertainment venue.
“Workers are wary of the short-term thinking driving Crown’s management. Management seem hell-bent on pushing existing casual and part-time workers into bare-minimum employment hours as they favour new hires.
“US-style race-to-the-bottom industrial relations policies are against the Australian way of life.
“Crown is owned by Blackstone, one of the world’s largest private equity firms. This dispute could be resolved immediately if Crown abandoned its two-tier wage proposal.”
“Crown is trying to force the same flawed approach across the Managers and Surveillance Agreements by weakening pay relativities, diluting conditions, and rebadging it as reform. That is why negotiations are stuck, and that responsibility sits squarely with Crown.”
Mr Jones said the union remains ready to bargain and has repeatedly advised Crown that industrial action is avoidable.
“The ball is firmly in Crown’s court. If the company comes back to the table with a fair proposal, this dispute does not need to escalate.”
ENDS
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