Modern Times

This is not only sheer exploitation of employees, but it's also employee bullying

Following a casual chat that I have just had with an acquaintance of mine, and I’m wondering whether some people realise that this is 2009 not 1809.

The person I had a chat with works for a company owned by someone who’s high up in one of the government corporations. There is no doubt in my mind that his role in this particular corporation should make him very aware of employees’ rights and entitlements – especially when one considers which corporation he’s involved in.

Yet, his greed drives him to do the complete opposite of what’s obliged to do by law. My acquaintance’s story sounds like story penned by Dickens or Zola. Worse still, the company owned by Scrooge is subcontracted by government to supply services in a considerable number of institutions. Hence, this abuse is happening on government ground.

Ironically, the fact that this company employs – or exploits – a considerable number of people acts as a deterrent for the individual employees to stand up for their rights. When a small group of around 10 people joined a trade union, all the employees were told that if they consider joining a trade union, they’ll be fired on the spot. Unfortunately, this is not an unusual threat on The Rock. Many companies, even the bigger ones, make their aversion towards trade unions very clear. However, the ‘best’ is yet to come.

All operative staff are paid minimum wage, and they have no overtime entitlement. Worse still, any hours worked over 40 and above the hour week is paid at a part time rate which is . . . . lower than the regular hourly rate! This is trebly illegal as (1) overtime is not paid at a 1½ rate; (2) the part time rate is lower than minimum wage; and (3) the only reason why employees accept these conditions is that this income is undeclared – so they get money in hand. He only seems to honour his legal obligations on Sundays and public holidays as he pays at a double rate. However, if a public holiday falls on a Sunday, he doesn’t pay treble – as required by law.

Unfortunately, there’s more. Female members of staff don’t have any maternity leave benefits. Once they’re about to give birth, they’re out of the job. The owner claims that the government does not pay him for maternity leave so he can’t provide it to the employees! He makes it sound as though maternity leave is paid out by the state and not by the employer. Needless to say, this is a huge scandal. People are not only denied their employment rights, but they’re also stripped off of their dignity and treated like disposable machines. This guy shows no respect towards his people. He manages by instilling fear in his unskilled employees and he’s very quick to threaten people with firing them on the spot whenever they even try to think to question his merciless decisions.

The same argument that is applied to maternity leave is transferred to sick leave. Employees are only entitled to 3 days of sick leave. The rest is at the Social Services Department’s mercy (an allowance of €11 for those who live with their parents and €17 for those who have to cater for dependents – this information is available on the Ministry for Social Policy’s website although the benefit amounts are not updated accoring to this year’s budget). By law, he should pay his employees their full pay for a specific period (depending on the industry) minus the afore-mentioned amount that is paid out by Social Security. As if this is not enough, employees have to pay the company doctor themselves when he pays them a visit on their sick days.

Additionally, for the record, those industries that are not covered by a wage regulation order should provide a minimum of 10 days sick leave on full pay to their employees. As mentioned already, this cowboy only pays for 3 days of sick leave.

As we are currently kick-starting the debate on the extension of maternity leave (14 weeks is too poor), we still have employers who treat people like dirt. This ruthless draconian (mis)management of people is completely immoral and unacceptable in today’s society. How can this person sleep at night when he knows that he’s treating pregnant women miserably instead of providing them with all the support they need at such an important yet delicate moment in their life?

How does he have the gall to exploit people who need to take sick leave for more than three days? How can he pass on company expenses to his staff (who are struggling to make ends meet) by making them pay for the services rendered by the company doctor? It’s his choice to send a doctor to the employees’ house, hence he should foot the bill.

I honestly hope that this is an isolated case, but somehow I’ve got a nagging feeling that a number of people reading this story will be wondering why I’m getting so worked up about this . . . . as there is nothing unusual to them. This is not only sheer exploitation of employees, but it’s also bullying performed by someone who most probably thinks that he’s well connected and therefore may think of himself as being untouchable. Sadly, the fact is that his scare tactics and bullying have, so far, worked well for him as no one had the gall to bring him to justice.