SOME S'PORE SMES TREAT THEIR EMPLOYEES WORSE THAN DOGS!

Hi editor,

If you can, please share my story. It is about my job as a sales person in an SME (Edit: Small, Medium Enterprise).

My boss is a very ngeow type of person. This I knew from the moment I joined the company. Although I was grateful to get a job immediately after poly, I also sensed something wrong when I saw colleagues keep changing and resigning very quickly.

Our job is to sell products for my company to the public. I cannot reveal what products we sell if not I will be found out by my boss, but I can say that it is common type of products that everybody uses.

When I joined, I was promised that I would receive commission for the products I sell. The aim is to sell as many products as possible so that I could bring home more money. When time came to receive my first pay and commission, I was told that my commission cannot be given as I did not hit the new sales target set for sales persons 2 weeks ago.

I find it unfair because If I cannot meet the sales target that I agree upon when I join, then I will accept. But now the company change the sales target 2 weeks ago and suddenly want us to sell more within the short period of time, it is very unfair to us. Some of my senior colleagues tell me that is the way this SME boss try to cut costs by not giving out commission to his sales persons.

Now they are pressuring us to sell more products and to hit higher targets, threatening that the lowest performing sales persons will be fired. This is my first job and I do not want to lose my job, but at the same time I feel demoralised that the boss can simply increase targets any time he wants and not give me my commission. I asked around online and others tell me worse stories about how some boss refuse to pay CPF and even hold commission back for 6 months or more.

I'm quite scared and don't know what to do. I wish someone can protect us employees from this kind of SME bosses.

Angeline
A.S.S. Contributor