The King and I

5th July 2010.7am - 3pm

Absolute chaos.All units were supposed to have opened at 6am and at 7am they were still closed.
The poor stand in supervisor was on the concourse with 2 red cages full of newspapers and magazines but with no staff to assist.I started my shift early to help get the show on the road.

However,it meant that i had to distribute hundreds of papers and magazines.This isn't good for my dodgy neck but i had to do it.We were up against it because once you fall behind at the beginning of the day you are always playing catch up.

The story behind this chaos was the Algerian with the facial twitch called in ill.The french queen is still on holiday,the long serving Somalian has left and the depressed Algerian wasn't at work either.None of those positions had been covered.Also,the Algerian was off for 2 days.

I met the longest serving member of staff,an ageing Indian with poor English,who has been at the PLC for 20 years.That is remarkable and extremely disturbing that this bloke had no ambition but if he enjoys it then good luck to him.

It was so chaotic the King and his assistant had to fill up the fridges with sandwiches and smoothies.

Whilst on my break i decided to speak to the KIng about my concerns regarding the wages.This was instigated because the well built Indian unit,who is very friendly with the slim Indian cricketer,took me to one side in the stock room and explained a problem he has had about his wages!!

He made sure we were out of sight of the CCTV and told me that he hasn't received monies due to him.I digested this news and immediately confronted the King.

"I would like to have a discussion with you regarding the unpaid wages and my contract of employment" i began agressively.
"Kindly show me a copy of my contract" i continued.
"I am concerned about what i'm hearing from other staff regarding the flexi contracts and non payment of salaries".

"Ok firstly lets have a look at your contract" he replied very cooly with a slight West Country drawl.
"You are on a fixed term contract which expires on August 27th" he said.
"One week before that date i will write to you with our intentions going forward" he continued.

Basically,their contracts are worded so tightly that they cover every possible angle.I will constantly be working monthly in arrears.I told him i have mouths to feed and i have never worked anywhere without getting paid for the hours at the end of the month.

I have to keep this going.Actor Dave was on the circuit today,as usual i enquired about his progress in that field.He scratched his head and dishonestly told me that he had sent off CV's.

The punters weren't very receptive today probably because of my frame of mind.

What amazes me about this place is that despite the blatant lack of staff somehow the business keeps going and just about has enough stock to service their needs.They clearly keep on trimming the labour costs in order to maximize profits.They know the levels of service are poor due to lack of staff but i think the management are on incentives if they keep on increasing profits.But business is business.

3pm finish and off to the Emirates for an interview/training session.