Chris Peterson, Melbourne
I work at a video store in a Melbourne suburb. Everyone I've told reckons it'd be such a great job. But I work in a small store, in a shopping centre, and I work by myself. Only one person is ever rostered on at a time because the owners claim the store is not busy.
Security cameras watch over me all the time, while notes taped to the counter remind me that: "If you have time to lean, you have time to clean!" The managers have set shifts and leave messages for the workers if they want something done.
There is no toilet, so relieving myself means closing the store, which leads to agitated notes about the store being closed for longer than 10 minutes.
Employees are allowed to eat on the job, but are not allowed breaks. The standard day shift is six hours, which means that we should get both a 15-minute and a half-hour break.
When I queried this with the manager, she said I could use a chair, which I had never been shown, to rest a while. I was also told I would have to keep the store open, and be ready to serve if necessary.
We are also expected to find someone to cover our shift if we are unable to work. If we can't find anyone, we have to work — regardless of the illness. I have also had my shift extended to cover someone who was ill and, more than once, have had to work nine hours without a break.
Workers are expected to be standing up at all times and continually doing an ever-growing list of tasks, something designed to discourage us from taking breaks. After working several nine-hour shifts in a row, I contacted my trade union and arranged a meeting with my unsympathetic manager.
The owners, who initially fobbed me off, were a bit spooked that someone had called the union in and eventually gave in to my demands. Because I stood up to the boss, and with the help of my union, I was able to get better conditions at my workplace. Others should do the same.
From Green Left Weekly, April 12, 2006.
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