Trickle Down Employment Standards

Well Peeps ... here I go ... sinking again.  Something has spurned on my mental illness and I can't stop stewing about it.  My poor hunni ... he listens to it as much as he can.  Then I see the eyes glaze over and I see that I'm on a loop of linguistic ranting on repeat repeat repeat.  I think I actually saw relief in his eyes when I finally said, "That's it ... I gotta write about it!".

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have two part time jobs.  The first one follows Employment Standards to the letter.  I've had to sign multiple forms in the past, had to hear multiple inquiries as to whether I've had my breaks, and otherwise have always felt that following code is important to them. That makes me proud to work there.  The second part time job is not like this and has broken code four times in the first month that I worked there, the most serious of which is taking money off of my pay check because of supposed cash shortages.

"Supposed cash shortages" ... what a joke.  In my lifetime, I've assisted a certain bank in financing a million dollars worth of Hyundai automobiles.  I know how to count money, been doin' it for a long time.  I used to iron my bills before a big shopping trip when I was a teen.  I'm not an idiot and neither are my co-workers.  I've likely had 50 friggin jobs in my 25 years of being employed and all but one or two involved counting money.

Personally, this employer has taken about $23 from my paycheck, and about $15 more in cash.  Yes I paid it.  Yes I agreed when she said there would be a deduction.  Why?  Because I was fooled once again in my fog of self-doubt.  The paperwork and inventory system in this particular bar is archaic at best.  The 80's have been calling since I started there, for their cash register back.  It's purpose is not even to keep the money safe, but as a great big calculator.  The cash tray doesn't even fit inside the register, but sits on the counter beside it instead.  Incredible to be honest, after working with the touch-screen computer/registers I've worked on in various jobs for the past 15 years.

But as per usual, what has my blood boiling this afternoon is something that is happening to someone else.  Someone I've never met in person, though we've texted back and forth often.  She's my co-worker and we started at this bar at the same time.

Upon texting today to switch some shifts, she told me that they are taking $90 out of her next pay check because they say her cash was short.  My hands begin to tingle just writing that.  They'll tremble next as she goes on to tell me that the bar was opened early that day by our manager and another clerk due to the holidays.  When she came in for her regular shift, she simply took over that cash.  Apparently the manager even acknowledged that the count may be off because of the 'mayhem'.

So that brings me around to the manager.  I like this woman, and I've said to co-workers that I hope she's being paid for every hour she puts in there.  She's on salary though, so you know she's not.  I can't help but see things from her perspective.  She recently took over management of this place and has been cleaning house of the allegedly bad staff.  Thus why I and my co-worker were hired at approximately the same time.  This manager cares about the well-being and success of her place of business and so she's doing every thing she can to show head office that she is capable.  To what end though?

Just like that I'm back on the side of my co-worker and I.  I can jump from your shoes, to my shoes, to her shoes in an instant!  Keep up if ya can :)

Two weeks ago I wrote a letter to my manager telling her that payroll deductions for cash shortages were not allowed and I no longer authorize her to do that.  I've heard not a peep since then.  Wow ... could my counting skills have suddenly improved like that?  Huh!

But my co-worker is not so lucky.  This $90 thing happened days ago!  Which means that my manager is doing it knowing full well that it's against Employment Standards.  Damn that burns me!

And back I am in her shoes:   would she get deductions from her pay from head office if she didn't do this to us?  Is this a case of shitty trickle down employment standards where there ain't much left at the bottom?  Why is the OWNER of the business, the person who is PROFITING from the business the only one who's interests are looked after in circumstances like this?

Tax-paying, inquiring, Canadian minds wanna know:

Who's managing the managers?

Who's bossing the bosses?

"Who cops all the cops is all I asked of you."~The Tragically Hip, "Trickle Down"

And who is overseeing the activities of Businesses in Canada?  I've asked before, is there a 'Miscellaneous' column in Qu!kbooks that allows for funds you've screwed out of unknowing employees?  Do accountants see this and say nothing?  Do repeat offenders of E.S. get tougher fines? And are the fines even substantial enough to deter this behaviour??  Clearly not as I've heard through that well-known grapevine that the owner has been in shit for this in the past.

There needs to be someone overseeing this.

New Rule:   If you pay taxes to the Government of Canada, a portion of those taxes pays a diplomatic entity to oversee all of your business functions pertaining to employees and their remuneration.


This video is about some of the recent protests.  The protests were about many things, not the least of which was EQUALITY between rich & poor, male & female, black & white, employee & employer.

The music is by one of my absolute core favourite bands ever, The Tragically Hip.  They were born in the city I live in, and most still live here.  Some of these band members likely frequented this place of business in younger days.  How fitting is that?