Archive Category: Work
No More Mister Nice Guy
I worked in Gerry Butler Food Factory in Castlebar in the last 12 months. It was my last day of working yesterday and my supervisor was singing “No More Mr Nice Guy” to celebrate the occasion. If there was a guitar nearby, I would have grabbed it right away to sing along this Alice Cooper song with him.
I would have been glad that if he was trying to tell me that he finally got it but I was not optimistic. We all have different roles to play at various times during the day and when we mix them up, we are merely, at best, creating embarrassment for ourselves or worse, asking for troubles.
My supervisor was playing Mister Nice Guy when one of my co-workers wanted to receive a slightly bigger pay cheque. What he did was not only silently condoning my co-worker’s unauthorized overtime but in many ways creating opportunities for him to make more non-working overtime claims. Non-action is a failure of supervisory duties while collusion is ground for instant dismissal.
That was not being a Mister Nice Guy. It was simply Mr Fool. All it took Patrick to do what he did and got away with it was just a little shoe shining. I wouldn’t call it ass kissing because Patrick is still a friend. We were chatting and drinking together over our webcams last Friday. I doubt that he is in speaking terms with his ex-friend, Mister Nice Guy.
Patrick was just one of the many migrant workers in the factory but he is a smart fellow. If he was allowed to get away with what he did and ended up with a decent pay cheque (especially by his Polish standard), he would of course be very happy to do some shoe shining. However, the company has to react to the excessive overtime. -it changed to a lump sum payment based on a 39-hr week for all workers. Patrick was the first one to react – he just did not show up for work one Monday morning soon after the new wage scheme became effective without any prior notice. Patrick’s sudden departure was a merciless betrayal of his supervisor friend. Patrick is such a jerk but don’t blame him for doing what he did.
There was one thing I could have done to prevent Patrick from leaving the factory. He begged me to swap his annual leave with me. He had to give me a good reason before I would agree to it - I knew he wouldn’t show up after his holiday.
What I didn’t tell Patrick was that he would still be entitled to his overtime payments in spite of the 39-hr cap. Had I told him about it, he would have stayed and let his overtime accumulate over time. He would be able to get all his overtime money back by making a claim through the Labour Court when he decided he had had enough. In fact, it would be easier for him to get overtime because the company would think that it was safely protected by the 39-hr cap. Perfect!
On the day I submitted my letter of resignation, I was still trying to convince them that the new wage scheme would be in fundamental breach of both the Minimum Wage Act and the Employment Equality Act. It’s such a simple and straight forward case for summary conviction if reference is made to the Labour Court.
The new wage scheme basically pays everyone on minimum hourly wage rate €298.35 a week regardless of the actual working hours. This is fine for those who work less than 39 hours a week. It means only that they receive a raise above their €7.65 hourly rate every now and then. There is nothing to bar an employer from being too generous. This is not the same for those who have to work over 39 hours to properly carry out their jobs. A worker who works 42 hours a week but receives only €298.35 is getting €7.10 an hour – a rate below the national minimum.
The company contended that since the worker who happened to work 42 hours in one particular week would be working only, say, 35 hours in another week, the net effect would be that the working hours tended to balance each others out. It is therefore nothing illegal about paying someone only 39 hours when he or she actually works 42 hours.
This is so absurd that it is unclear whether they were reading an Irish version of the Minimum Wage Act which they did not understand or they just refused to understand what they didn’t understand.
I have no difficulty with the charity part of the new wage scheme as I very much doubt that the Court will entertain any claim for overpayment after they have paid €298.35 to someone who has only 35 hours on his or her time sheet. As for those who work over 39 hours, they will certainly have no problem getting payment for their extra hours.
When we are dealing with contracts, including Employment Contract, we have to be very specific about each clauses contained therein. The Court is becoming more and more reluctant to entertain implied terms and will definitely throw someone’s wild assumptions out of the window in no time.
It is probably worse under the Employment Equality Act as it carries a heavier fine and a longer term of imprisonment upon summary conviction or on conviction on indictment. The Act stipulates equal work, equal pay. Simply put, two general unskilled operatives, who are doing similar work and who are having similar seniority with the company, should receive the same amount of remuneration. The lump sum weekly payment is effectively paying one general operative €8.50 an hour and the other €7.65 an hour. One can probably attribute the difference to age, sex, race, ass-kissing skill, etc. Take your pick and give it a swirl. Jackpot!
I am sure that they will change to a more equitable wage scheme. The lump sum 39-hr weekly payment simply doesn’t make sense. As for the one who dreamed up such an ingenious scheme, he or she should get some real good spanking.
Posted on April 12, 2006 05:01 PM | Comments (0)
Letter Formation
Lunch break. Bored to death - spending the whole morning trying to configure my active desktop. I think it’s bad even some fools are willing to pay me for doing just that. 
Read some rumblings about letter formation. I managed a laugh.
Posted on September 16, 2003 01:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Two Sets of Books
It really wont surprise any one that companies do have two sets of books, one for the tax inspector and one for the banker. Some may keep a 3rd for internal control. This was what I learned, not during my MBA degree, but soon after I graduated.
I had to do it (or simply not disapproved it) when my company was about to apply for a listing in the stock exchange. I could have waited for another two years but if I did, I wouldn't have the honor to approve the accounts in two years' time. I would have been sacked well before it. In those days when substantial more money were made in LPOs than in a company?s core business, getting listed in the shortest possible time was the one and only one mission of the firm. 'Harvest' was the word we used to refer to listing.
After the listing, there was even more pressure to cook. Basically, one doesn't want to scare the shit out of the investors in bad times and there is always the need to keep some reserves in good times. The whole picture is never revealed. Just in case.
There was one thing I knew. I shouldn't and couldn't hold any public offices. The question of integrity would inevitably come into play in running a public office. I would no longer be accountable only to the shareholders of a company but to the general public as a whole. Of course, there would always be concern about people starting to dig into my past if I were lucky enough to get elected to a respectable public office.
Every businessman cooks his books. It?s only a matter of extent. If my auditor didn't see the same grey areas as I did, he would be out of the door in no time. And if they couldn't find a 'legal' way of doing it, they would be out too. How far one can push the auditor really depends on the size of your company - no one cares too much about the disgraceful auditing fees. What matter is the side business.
This is why businessmen shouldn't get involved in key civil services. They don't have the integrity.
Integrity. It may sound a little unfair for Mr Bush. But the truth of the matter is as President of the United States, the most respectable and powerful position in the world, the question of integrity should never never be brought up. The issue about Harken might just be smoke (however unlikely it is as I have yet to meet a single businessman who doesn't cook (or season) his books) but no, the importance of his position does dictate ZERO tolerance. (not the smoke from a smoking gun we heard from the administration but the smoke in No Smoke Without Fire).
''It's legal, but God, it smells rotten,'' said Bill Coyle. I won't question the legal part. There has to be ways to do the cooking 'legally' or we would all be in jail. But one can never overcome the moral part. So should you feel good if you can evade taxes 'legally'? Should you feel good if you can cheat your investors without breaching the laws?
One just has to make up his mind earlier on in his career. Be a successful businessman or be a respectable civil servant. They just don't mix!
And I wouldn't be talking about business ethics here if I were still in the game. "Business ethics" are words reserved for the retired.
And don't think that its only people in the business world who are fond of cooking, the army too: 'I firmly believe ...'. Fully convinced after 10 long years of deliberation? Happy cooking.
Posted on October 14, 2002 01:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Go On
I can't go on like this. I keep inventing useless things to do merely to kill time. It's not that I do not know wasting time will end up wasting myself. I can't help it. I just want something to occupy my mind, to stop me thinking.
Its either Internet Spades or Blogging until 3 in the morning. As if these weren't not enough, I began to try scripting, database/SQL, browsing my own hard disks and even drafting a Will. I wouldn't go to bed until I nodded off in front of my pc. My eyesight is failing fast, I can't breathe.
"There is not an oil company out there that wouldn't be interested in Iraq", wrote Morgan and Ottaway. Everyone wants a piece of it but one has to be very tactful indeed. To make any reference, however indirect, to the oil would be positively indecent.
The Russian is growing a bit impatient - they are not going to be satisfied with just some left-over from the US. They made their move and now these two are bargaining. France will join in soon. Well, the Brits are ok, they are very much guaranteed a good slice of the cake. They had been there and they know the oil fields by heart. They had tried. Forget about China, they should be happy with some left-over of left-over. Now the Security Council members are all out of the way. But let's just not forget about Germany and Japan, at least we should be seen to be bringing them on board.
We recall how Shanghai was divided up and colonized by very much the same powerful nations when China was invaded. They know the play - and the scripts are not much different.
from "Life" magazine
Posted on September 21, 2002 12:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Laptop
I just spent the whole afternoon trying to decide on a laptop. (I am convinced I can't buy an IBM here. What a freaking place?!!!) Two choices really, either a Toshiba or a Dell. Toshiba is definitely better. Portege has a nice look. Bluetooth seems to be the in-thing (not too long ago) but unfortunately it doesnt really take off.
Saturday is normally the busiest day for the kids. Jogging in the morning as usual and they have horse riding at 2pm and swimming at 5pm. It would be a sin not to let them know something about horses in this country. Not an inexpensive pastime however. Her mom had to spent nearly her whole week's salary to equip them for this one hour exercise.
I will probably have to spend the rest of today trying to restore my win98 (I still prefer it to XP which gives me beautiful icons but is dragging down my poor old pc to a barely functional speed). I was getting a little too excited about this ASP and VBScripts trash and decided to install the PWS in my win98 - thinking it would make it easier for me to test all these codes. Win98 just refused to startup after the PWS installation. Not even in safe mode! I know this is going to be bad. I was dumb I should have done all these tests in my company's pc and not in my own pc.
I have no mood to write. I have to fix the win98 now.
Posted on September 7, 2002 09:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Another Great Day
It's been a great learning day! I didn't do a single thing in the office today. Spending the whole f%#king day learning VBScripts.
The only programming language I ever learned was FORTRAN, that was 26 years' ago. I have not even written a single code in Basic. But I have to learn a little VBScripts and perhaps SQL before I can make some more meaningful uses of this ASP. Cant go very far with cut and paste.
I feel great. I have learned something new.
Work has become very dull and uninspiring. My boss probably thinks that I may quit. He just gave me a raise today. It's the second raise in 6 months and it's a good 15% increase in take-home. I must be doing something right; I didn't even ask for the raise. Ok boss I will keep reading VBScripts at work or simply playing online Chess? Internet Spades is fun too. No no no. These may not be remote enough from the job I am supposed to do. I will start trying Corel Draw. It should do.
Why would I need a laptop? My boss just asked one of the girls in the office to buy me a laptop. An incentive? A gift? Well, I used to carry an expensive laptop while I was sleepwalking. It was an essential part of the dress code. Its importance was no doubt second only to a Rolex and no less than a Valentino suit.
I know things have changed but a laptop is still more than twice the price of a similar desktop. It is still a lot more clumsy to use. And most important of all, I only wear jeans to work these days.
I decided to do some homework myself (I have had enough VBSripts today anyway) after returning home. Afterall, the laptop is for my use and I know the girl whom he has entrusted this highly technical task still has some difficulties in making out the difference between LCD and LSD.
Now this is again something new. I just found out this evening that there's no way for me to buy an IBM notebook here. There is a IBM website for Ireland alright but if I want a IBM notebook, the site keeps referring me to the UK site. I couldn't even do a search on dealers in Ireland (apparently there is NONE but I hope I am wrong).
Maybe I should start looking for a Mac-X.
Posted on September 6, 2002 12:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack