Stop Dreaming! Wake Up!

The co.’s only Bangladeshi worker, Osman who has served this company for 12 years had a discussion with the lady boss yesterday.

You see, there will be new Nepalese workers coming in this month. They required minimum salary of RM750 in which to get that amount the co. needs to give them 3 hours OT everyday.

Osman knows that he won’t get any OT because of his daily pay is higher that the Nepalese. Remember, my boss is very calculative mah. So he counter offer to the lady boss that he can work for that 3 hours with the normal rate, not OT rate (1.5).

After he left the office, the lady boss told me that next month onwards, Osman salary is without allowance (RM200) and no increment for him in July and he will work extra 3 hours everyday.

Then I start calculating his extra 3 hours’ pay; only RM238. Knowing Osman, he is not that stupid to forgo RM200 which he does not have to work extra 3 hours to get additional RM38 with work.

After lunch, the lady boss was not around; I called him to the office to speak to him about this. Not to my surprise, he did not agree to forgo that RM200 allowance! It so happened that the lady boss called while I was talking to him, so I asked her about it.

You know what she said? (of course you don’t know lar, I not yet tell :P)

“I do not want his salary to exceed RM1k, not matter what he does, his salary can only be around RM850. It’s not fair to me if I pay him extra.”

I wanted to tell her, “Do you think it is fair to him? He worked for 12 years already.”

But I did not.

To the lady boss, she doesn’t care how long you work for her. You are a foreign worker. I can send you home and employ new ones and pay them much lower than you.

So I just told her that Osman wants back the original pay and won’t work extra 3 hours.

The ex-Operation Manager was there. “Osman, you remembered what I told you before you went back to Bangladesh? I told you not to come back right?”

If he knew that this is how the company is going to treat him, he would have taken all his salary and not return.

I also found out that the Production Manager told the lady boss that he does not want Osman anymore because he does not listen to him. Well, Osman is smart, he has hands on experience on the job that he has doing for the past 12 years, certain things he knew better than the PM but as a superior that does not know about being humble will not accept any suggestion from the subordinate what more from a Bangladeshi.

I am sure this will be the last year for Osman here.

The lady boss kept whining that because of these new Nepalese workers, there is a big jump in the company’s salary. When I counted, the extra is less than RM3k. One month salary of the OM that resigned. They also save by not employing any Chemist for 2 years already, which they should. And they are going to save another RM2600 when I resigned. Now you know my pay. This is what I am getting after more than 8 years of working here.

I feel sad for Osman and also my other colleagues that decided to stay. I told them that the word “Appreciation” is not in their dictionary. If you are happy with JUST basic pay and 8.30am-5.30pm sharp of work then you stay. If you want more or plan to demand for more, don’t ever think of it. You can dream but no all dreams come true. I have been dreaming for more than 8 years, I have woken up!