Chapter 343: Demanding Wages
The April wind, carrying the breath of spring, caused new buds to sprout from the bare tree trunks on the roadside, and new life was quietly blooming.
"Lijie Wuyou" store.
Shen Jingjing got out of the taxi and glanced at the store from a distance, only to find that there were many people gathered outside the store's gate, most of whom were employees of the real estate agency and other shops nearby.
A group of people stretched their necks to look inside, obviously watching the fun.
She frowned slightly and walked forward with some confusion. However, before she got too close, she heard a very noisy noise coming from the store, as if there was some dispute.
Those who were watching the excitement outside seemed to know something about the situation and were communicating with each other.
“Is this because you didn’t get paid again?”
"It happened once last month, and it happened again on the same day this month. It seems they're in arrears again."
"What's going on? Isn't this housekeeping company famous? They cater to the high-end market."
"Who knows? Maybe the boss used the money to invest in something else and it failed. If the funding chain wasn't broken, why would he withhold the salaries of these senior women?"
"That's right. This is the internet age. If something like this gets out, the company is finished. If the boss has the money and dares not to pay it back, there must be something wrong with the company."
Wages in arrears?
Shen Jingjing listened to the general idea, then squeezed through the gap in the crowd and went straight into the store door.
Inside the store, the noise was even more chaotic.
A group of employees surrounded the manager and bombarded him with all kinds of talk, but the core issue was that they wanted the company to pay their wages immediately.
These regular employees haven’t received their salary for two months!
Shen Jingjing couldn't get a word in and could only watch from afar. She hadn't even been hired yet, and although she had completed several orders, the total amount wasn't much money.
Besides, she was planning to resign today. She decided to quit before the internship was over. Shen Jingjing herself didn't even think about getting the money back, but she thought it would be better to come here in person, at least to give others an explanation.
I didn’t expect to encounter such a thing!
The manager was in a dilemma, mainly because the employees were too angry. He tried to calm them down for a long time but to little effect. In the end, he had no choice but to shut up and wait for everyone to vent their anger first.
After a long while, the employees' anger finally subsided. The manager sighed helplessly and said in a wronged tone, "Everyone, calm down. Although I am the manager of the branch, I am also an employee of the company. You haven't received your salary, and in fact, it's the same for me. I am on the same front as everyone else."
"I'm not entirely clear on the company's current situation, but please believe me, I will actively negotiate with the company on behalf of our branch employees and resolve the wage arrears issue as quickly as possible."
"The company has always been operating well. Many of you have been working in the store for many years. We know that there has never been a case of wage arrears before. This incident must have happened to the company. Please give the company a little more time, okay?"
"Manager, it's not that we want to make things difficult for you or anything. It's just that we haven't had any income for two months, and life is really difficult for us!"
"That's right. Longcheng's living expenses are so high. If we don't get paid, how are we going to survive?"
"The elderly back home need to buy medicine every month, and the children need to go to school. If we don't pay them, wouldn't that be like cutting off everyone's livelihood?"
Most of these domestic workers have little education and earn their money through hard work. Many of them have to support a family of old and young alone and cannot afford to be in arrears.
Especially in the current situation, they are in a dilemma. If they resign, they will not be able to find a more suitable job for the time being. If they don't resign, they are afraid that they will not get paid and their work will be in vain.
The manager also had a worried look on his face. Faced with such a dilemma, he didn't know how to help these employees solve their life problems.
But as a branch manager, he definitely supports his store employees.
"Everyone, listen to me. We have more than a dozen branches in various regions of Longcheng. Our branch is definitely not the only one experiencing this situation. I promise everyone, I will do my best to ensure that our branch is among the first to receive wages. Please believe me, okay?"
The manager is still very sincere. Mainly because he is very responsible to the employees in the store. Last year, under his leadership, this branch received a bonus red envelope from the company. Although each person did not receive much, other branches did not receive it.
So the store employees are actually his fans.
At this moment, Sister Min, who was quite prestigious among the older employees, stepped forward. She signaled everyone to calm down and said, "Let's not embarrass the manager. This won't solve the problem. Since he promised us that he would negotiate with the company, we should trust him. After all, he's the only one who can connect with the company, and we're just low-level employees."
As soon as Sister Min opened her mouth, everyone quieted down.
But Sister Min turned to look at the manager and said, "But manager, you know how difficult it is for everyone. We can't afford to delay this any longer, so we'll give you a week at most. I hope you can help us solve this problem. If we don't get paid in a week, we'll go to the headquarters and make a scene."
"Okay!" The manager nodded and agreed: "I will do my best!"
If the matter cannot be resolved within a week, he will not have the face to stop everyone from making a fuss with the headquarters, because if he, as a manager, cannot resolve the matter, perhaps only by making a big deal out of it can these low-level workers get the salary they deserve.
A brief consensus was reached and everyone finally dispersed. Those who needed to go out to work went to work, and those who needed to return to work returned to work.
Sister Min saw Shen Jingjing standing at the door and hurried to greet her.
"Jingjing!"
Shen Jingjing had just heard everything, and couldn't help but look at Sister Min and ask, "Has the company already owed two months' salary?"
Sister Min nodded helplessly: "Yes, especially our Group A. Because Group A earns more, the arrears are naturally higher. Don't blame me for not telling you before, because the company has never had such a situation before. I thought I would get the money this month, so I didn't say anything."
Shen Jingjing shook her head: "I definitely won't blame you, and I was going to resign today."
Sister Min was stunned for a moment, but then nodded in understanding: "It's better to cut the losses in time. We still don't know what the company's situation is. There's no need for you to waste time here."
(End of this chapter)
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