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What |
Press Conference: Workers at Crown Melbourne are on strike for 24 hours on Lunar New Year. |
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Who |
Andrew Jones, Director of Casinos and Clubs, United Workers Union Crown Melbourne delegates and members |
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When |
Tuesday 17 February 2026 11.45am – Speakers arrive at RP2 12.00 noon – Media conference 12.30pm – Event concludes |
Patrons at Melbourne’s Crown Casino are facing serious disruptions to Lunar New Year celebrations today, with workers walking off the job from midnight last night (EDS: Monday) for 24 hours.
The strike – which follows a strike at Crown on New Year’s Eve and a strike on Valentine’s Day – will affect operations across all areas of the casino, including table games, security, catering and cleaning services.
Thousands of union members are taking action after Crown’s failure to put a reasonable pay offer on the table, a month after 89 per cent of Crown’s workers voted down a divisive and unfair two-tier pay offer.
The pay offer put by Crown in December would have seen new workers paid up to 32 per cent less for doing the same work.
“Crown still hasn’t got the memo, despite workers voting against their deal, and taking repeated actions to support their demands for a fair offer,” Andrew Jones, Director of Casinos, said today.
“If Crown is serious about offering patrons a good time, they need to start treating their staff with respect – and that starts with a reasonable pay offer.
“Crown depends on these skilled workers to offer the services that have made Crown one of the biggest entertainment drawcards in Australia.
“As patrons of Crown during Lunar New Year will find out, it’s hard to have a good time when those staff aren’t around.
“These workers are not going to stand for Crown dragging out negotiations and failing to show them the respect they deserve.
“Crown is hosting and sponsoring a summit about the future of Victoria, while at the same time pursuing plans that would cut wages and offshore secure local jobs.
“That’s not the future Victorian workers want. If Crown wants to be seen as part of Victoria’s future, it should be sitting down with its workforce and resolving this dispute.
“We expect the Prime Minister, the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition to make it clear that Victoria’s future must include secure jobs, fair wages and respect for local workers.
“It would be difficult for political leaders to publicly support an event about Victoria’s future if Crown is not demonstrating that same commitment to its workforce.
We are urging Crown to resolve this dispute before the Future Victoria Summit on February 25 so that the focus can genuinely be on building a strong future for Victorian workers and communities.