Workers remain anxious as they have not received any formal communication from either the concessionary company or the government about the future of their jobs post-Wednesday.
“We are three days away from the end of the current concession, and there has been no decision from the authorities regarding either the continuation of the current concession or the announcement of a new tender,” stated Luís Baptista of the Union of Workers in the Hotel, Tourism, Restaurants and Similar Industries of the South to Lusa News Agency.
The workers gathered today outside the State Secretariat for Tourism and were met by the chief of staff of Secretary of State Pedro Machado. However, they left feeling even more worried, as “the situation does not look promising.”
“We were told that, most likely, the current company does not meet the conditions necessary for the extension of the current concession,” he said.
During the meeting, the union representative confirmed that a large number of concessionaires have not paid the taxes owed related to gaming laws, leading to “a substantial amount of debt” from the bingo halls to the state, a situation with which “the authorities cannot continue to collude.”
“This means that, very likely, many of the companies currently running the concessions will not have their licenses renewed,” he explained.
Luís Baptista emphasized the “great concern” about what will happen to the hundreds of employees currently working in the bingos.
“One thing is certain: on the 19th [Wednesday], the workers will report to work because they are ready to work,” he stated.
According to the union representative, besides the Amadora, five more bingo concessions are operational in Portugal: Trindade (Porto), Nazaré, Panda and Belenenses (both in Lisbon), and Amora (Seixal).
There are also bingo halls that, despite having state-awarded concessions, are currently closed.
“Today, it is quite a small sector, yet it generates millions of euros in revenue. In the third quarter, we are talking about over 22 million euros already billed by these six bingos,” he noted, stressing that “lack of money is not the reason for unpaid taxes.”
Last month, Bingo da Amadora generated “just from gaming revenues around 450,000 euros, not including bar revenues,” he added, pointing out that the latter is also a significant source of income not counted within gaming revenues.
Some of these Amadora workers have many years of service, having transitioned from the previous Bingo do Estrela da Amadora, which went bankrupt and closed in 2014.
The company has also not provided any official information to employees, neither internally nor through their union representatives.
The workers of Bingo da Amadora plan to hold a meeting next Monday and also to participate in another rally at the State Secretariat for Tourism on Tuesday, “to once again highlight their situation.”
