Workers at the company I’m employed at were all “promised” a pay rise. When the pay rise took effect, the increase was lower than we’d been told it would be – without any explanation – and all bonuses were removed entirely. At the same time, all employees in leadership positions have received and will continue to receive a guaranteed two-figure percentage pay rise. The rest of us were told that future pay increases will be low, and dependent on the company’s discretion alone.
Now, we’re all being told that our targets will be increasing each quarter, and we are still required to do everything possible to exceed these targets, the only incentive being to keep a job. When I questioned these changes, I was told that very low union membership meant the company could essentially do as it pleased.
Is there anything I can do? I’m in my late 40s, so looking for another job isn’t an option in a country as ageist as ours, but I’m also worried that before long my wage will be below the poverty line.
What you’ve described regarding pay is so much more than a broken promise. It’s a policy of austerity.Credit: John Shakespeare
What we’ve ended up mentioning in the question above is really the tip of a pretty appalling iceberg. From everything you’ve told me, your workplace has a deep cultural illness.
I was shocked to discover in our correspondence that this is not some failing medium-sized company desperately and ineptly attempting to save the furniture, as I assumed after your first email. It is, in fact, a huge, financially robust organisation – an Australian household name.
What you’ve described regarding pay is so much more than a broken promise. It’s a policy of austerity for the people doing the work and of largesse for the bosses. I’ve never understood this approach – if a business is in such difficulty that serious, painful changes are required, shouldn’t those changes apply to everyone?
The employee in this instance would be well advised to join the relevant union in their industry.
Dr Eugene Schofield-Georgeson
At a time when everything is measured to within an inch of its life, it seems only fair that “key performance indicators” would be just as demanding of managers as they are of non-managers.
Being a manager, as I’ve said many times in Work Therapy, is an incredibly difficult task and I understand the argument that managers should be well remunerated for the challenging nature of the job.
