On May 1st, synonymous with International Workers' Day in many countries, citizens took to the streets of cities across the globe to rally for better working conditions. Having become incrementally more lefty every year since the end of high school, I would have loved to attend this protest, but instead spent the day at my full-time retail job at a company that I shall lovingly call Winkleskeet Inc.
Winkleskeet Inc. is a relatively new company that promised to be different. Employees will be adequately compensated! they said. You will love your job and will provide excellent customer service as a result! they said. Born a cynic, I did not believe a word of this (paying me 50 cents an hour above minimum wage can yield only mediocre customer service at best,) but clapped along with everyone else at the initial team-spirit-corporate-rah-rahs in order to not call attention to myself.
And guess what! Winkleskeet has failed me and my coworkers, and sooner than I could have possibly imagined. I am paid a barely liveable wage. If it were not for the fact that my sister pays all our rent (in exchange for groceries and Sunday sister-snuggles), I would be positively destitute. Winkleskeet does not operate on commission, meaning that I am stressed out, grumpy, and dealing with the worst aspects of humanity for eight hours a day (sometimes without breaks for we are that busy and that inadequately staffed) for very little reward.
There are those that would argue that this is my own doing; after all, I used to be an engineer earning an annual salary that is absolutely disgusting compared to the pittance I earn now. I left the country to travel and wander for a few months, and returned during the recession, when obtaining a decent job was a wet dream for most. Granted, I did not throw out any muscles on my job hunt, seeing how I abhor engineering (not the field in general, but as a career fit for me) and I took my time to find a relatively simple job that would act as a nice stop-gap between careers.
This relatively simple job has turned out to be like an onion, with each alternate layer either a blessing or a nightmare. The blessings are the very excellent friends I've made, learning to make do with less (what on earth was I spending my money on two years ago?) and to hold my own against people who attempt to bully me. The nightmares are some of these people who bully me, elevated blood pressure (I haven't measured it, but it sure feels higher), and not receiving the full amount of my paycheque on payday.
There are times when I find myself thinking, "Well, it's a shitty retail job. What was I really expecting?", but I have to stop myself, because this is a very snobby, highbrow judgement. I am luckier than many: I have family who will support me through these times, I have an amazing job awaiting me in September (in Europe, no less!), I have a significant amount of savings from my previous employment, and I have the education, the confidence, and the support to eventually leave this job and develop a rewarding career. But what about others who may not be so lucky? What about those who rely on this job to pay their rent and to buy their groceries due to their life circumstances? What about immigrants whose skills are not recognized in this country and are forced to undertake work for which they are overqualified? Should they not be adequately compensated for the (grueling) work that they do? Do they not deserve to rest on statutory holidays like all upper middle class folks?
The argument that people who wish to live a comfortable lifestyle should seek the education required to earn such a salary is a flawed one. If everyone were to become bankers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc, who would sell groceries and other things we expect to be able to purchase 24/7? Who would manage our apartment buildings and run daycares? All these services that we consider to be vital should not be treated merely as short term jobs from which everyone should seek to break free in order to achieve some distorted capitalist dream, but as perfectly respectable jobs which should allow employees to live healthy and sane lives, with decent housing, food, and vacation.
And that is my rant for today. Merci bonkers for reading.
Mary QoT
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