There is a saying that goes, ‘there is no such thing as bad publicity’.
In the age of click baits and complex algorithms, getting repeated mentions may sound like a good thing.
But is that the case when the publicity highlights an organisation’s unreasonable – and frankly – turgid behaviour in treating its staff?
Apparently, clothing store Uniqlo has been treating its staff like the proverbial turd on a stick if a post on X is to be believed.
According to @ipanstar, he was served with a warning letter for reporting to work at the wrong shift.
They CHANGED my shift on my OFF DAY, without notifying me, tak call nor text ckp tukar shift, so the next day I masuk keje as usual tau tau kena warning letter.
Management ckp “you should call us even on ur off day to ask if theres any changes”2 of us kena warning letter https://t.co/cwYV77qBOW
— . (@ipanstar) January 21, 2025
He contends that the working hours were changed on his off day without any prior notification. The management argued that the onus to check was with the employee.
@ipanstar was responding to a post by social media influencer JalalMisia (@jllmisai) who had posted a list of grievances from staff at the popular clothing franchise.
The list of grievances included lacking empathy regarding lateness due to breakdown of transport to questioning the veracity of medical certificates (MC).
Many staff – former and current – did not hold back in condemning Uniqlo for lacking the human touch in dealing with employees. The issue came to light recently after staff seized the opportunity to voice their disgruntlement in a Uniqlo ong-some advertisement poster on the brand’s Instagram page.
View this post on Instagram
The post by @ipanstar clarifies that there was no notification in any messaging forum and the incident was years ago. He encouraged those who wanted to have their skills, patience and temperament tested to apply for a position at Uniqlo.
The post has already been viewed 927.7K times at time of publication with more than one stating that such practices were normal in Malaysia where workers rights were given short shrift.
One netizen pointed out that the onus was on the employer to inform of change in work schedules unless it was the staff who had requested for a change. He saw this was proof of a company that had no coherent system in place.
With some going further in labelling the company human resource who claimed that onus is on staff as “stupid in the extreme”, wondering how such idiotic people could roam the earth.
One former staff warned that if one was not of a strong constitution, it is best to not join Uniqlo, labelling it a “traumatising” experience.
One wondered if Unqlo had appointed an intern to run its human resource department while another described this was “rubbish management”.
One pointedly asked if Uniqlo was hiring workers or slaves.
One even tagged the Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong to enquire if the country has no labour laws to protect the rights of Malaysian workers.
Regardless of whether Uniqlo were saddled with difficult staff or those who seem to always have a convenient excuse, workers are protected by legislation and the employer is duty-bound to respect those laws.
Reality is that too many errant employers seem to think nothing of breaking the rules to suit their needs, especially when it comes to dealing with lower-grade staff.
Such bad publicity for the brand will impact on its ability to attract talent. Furthermore, in an age where ESG (environmental, social and governance) principles are given priority, such accusations of gross mismanagement (if true) may even hurt its bottom line as consumers decide to take their business elsewhere.
The pursuit of profit cannot be at the expense of workers’ rights. The sooner companies realise that, the better.
In the meantime, it’s over to you Steven Sim. – Jan 22, 2025
