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Today (Friday, 8 August), workers at Crown Sydney Casino are taking protected strike action during the casino’s busiest period of the day, a move that Crown has expressed disappointment over.
The four-hour strike, the United Workers Union (UWU) said in a statement, is to demand a pay offer that allows casino staff to “meet the soaring costs of living in Australia’s most expensive city”.
According to the union, 70 workers who cover Crown’s gaming operations, security and cleaning will partake, marking the first casino strike in Sydney since 2009, and the first ever at Crown.
UWU casinos director Andrew Jones said: “When you consider the high costs of living in Sydney, Crown workers can’t accept an offer that doesn’t address years of soaring inflation and resulting higher prices.”
“Today, a room attendant cleaning suites that charge up to $40,000 a night is being paid just 7¢ above the minimum award. Meanwhile, their colleagues doing the same job at Crown Melbourne are earning $7.94 more an hour.”
Crown’s whole business relies on these workers, Jones continued, “but they’re being paid less to do the same work in a city that costs more”.
“As a result, workers are voting with their feet – Crown Sydney Casino has seen annual staff turnover rates of around 60 per cent in recent years,” he said.
In a statement provided to HR Leader, a Crown spokesperson said: “We are disappointed by this action – Crown Sydney’s offer is above inflation and the union’s is double the rate of inflation.”
“Crown team members across our three properties earn an average 31 per cent higher than industry standards, and our above-market offer is fair and reasonable.”
HR Leader understands that Crown remains committed to the bargaining in good faith to seek a resolution with its staff members.
According to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ Trends in Federal Enterprise Bargaining report from the March quarter of 2025, annualised wage increases for the private sector stood at 3.9 per cent for that quarter – slightly down from 4 per cent in the December 2024 quarter.
Jones argued that the strike is “about dignity, respect, and the right to build a decent life in this city”.
“Clearly, [Crown’s owner, US private equity firm] Blackstone has the financial means to provide a cost-of-living pay rise for our members. It’s time they came to the table with a meaningful offer that stops workers rushing out the door,” he said.
“The workers’ action sends a clear message to Crown Sydney that the workforce won’t accept an unfair deal, and they are exercising their legal rights to take industrial action.”
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Industrial relations is the management and evaluation of the interactions between employers, workers, and representative organisations like unions.
