Confessions of a retail worker.

Mwehehe. I could get into so much trouble for dishing the dirts on Malaysian shopper. I have come to realise the full extension of what it means to work in a retail store, where your face is a blurred image to other people, and they look at you as if you're dirt.

Girls. Stop being a bitch when you shop. Do you know how measly the pay is? Rarely do you find a shop where they pay more than RM 5 per hour. That's less than USD $2, per hour. In one day, it's 8 hours. RM 40. Equals to...

USD $11.35 FOR 8 HOURS!!

We slave ourselves to bend over and pick up all the trash the loving customers leave us, to re-fold clothes they pick up and then just toss away into a curled up ball - all for the sake of USD $11.35 for one day! Who the hell can live on that. Feet aches, you spend half your money on new shoes hoping it'd provide you some sole relief, but contemplating the pay, it really isn't that much. It's a pittance!

I admit, I envy girls who are born rich and don't have to worry a thing about working. I've been working since I was 16 years old and I feel so old! I feel so underpaid!

Under the Labour Law (Malaysia);

The normal work hours of an employee shall not exceed 8 hours in one day or 48 hours in one week.

That's bullshit. I've worked in 2 retail stores and both have asked me to work full (11 hours per day) and minimum of working hours per week is 53 hours!

An employer who fails to make contributions to EPF shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to a fine not exceeding RM10,000 or to both.

The place where I am currently working at does not pay EPF. Rather, we are given our wages weekly at a flat rate of RM 5 per hour. So if I was to file a complain, this company can actually be sued.

A company or firm with one or more employees whose individual earnings do not exceed RM1,000 a month has to register with SOCSO. The contributions for such employees are borne solely by the employer.

We have at least fifteen (15) workers! Ha! Take that, you chockful of megachain retail store. Nope, no socso here either.

All taken from http://www.jobsdb.com.ph/MY/EN/V6HTML/JobSeeker/handbook/regulation-of-employment

Obviously the Labour Law is being ignored by "standard" retail stores as many requires their staff to work more than 8 hours in a day several days a week. The Labour Law should state a minimum wage (of higher value) which would encourage more students to hold part-time jobs longer and prevent the high rate of "quitting" (to put it delicately). In the states kids are getting as much as USD $8 (MINIMUM!).

Honestly, the pay is lousy, non-encouraging yet most of us students need it to survive the following college intake or simply to support our lifestyle. I don't think I can take much more of looking at snobbish people's faces (some customers la, jangan perasan if it's not you) where they think just because they're shopping in your store apparently their money goes directly to your pocket.