The Dreaded "R"

byLillzMorgan

157 followers

Updated 10 years ago

About a month ago we started hearing whispers through the grapevine about suspected cut-backs and redundancies at my job. I am a casual worker at a mining distribution warehouse in Western Australia. As you can guess, as a casual worker when you hear rumours like this it can send shock waves through your veins. You start thinking it’s only a matter of time and then I’ll be down the road.

Just two weeks ago, all staff were called in for an emergency meeting, all staff were to attend, including us casuals. Everyone in the warehouse had two hours to marinade and conjure up thoughts about what this ‘big’ site meeting was about. Sure enough, we were all told that cut-backs would need to be made. To avoid any redundancies all staff working hours were going to be reduced. Permanant staff normally work 50 hours weekly, their hours would be reduced to 40, and everyone would need to entertain the idea of working on different days at different shifts to evenly spread the workload and ‘fingers-crossed’ keep everyone in a job.

What initially was planned to be a ten minute meeting ended up stretching into an hour. There were many emotions that ran through the room, surprise turned to fear and anger turned to humility. There was bewilderment and concern, many ideas thrown in the air and lots of criticism voiced at management. Many staff were on the attack, and management were on defence, it was a heated meeting that eventually ended in general concern for everyones future. It was definitely not what everyone wanted to hear.

The signs were always there…

Many industries in Western Australia are directly effected by the global share market; the biggesst and most notable is the mining industry. While being employed at any level within mining you can expect to make above average wages and salaries. However, when there is a downturn on the global share markets what once was a great industry to be involved with is now struggling to continue operating at profit.

With the drop in the price of iron-ore, gold, silver and nickel; many mine sites Australia-wide have ceased operating, leaving hundreds of people unemployed. With the closure of multiple mine sites over the last twelve months, there are now many other businesses who relied heavily on the mines that are also facing closure or cut-backs too. These businesses like the one I work at would have lost major contracts worth millions. The mining boom has certainly seen better days.

How did this effect the casuals, or more to the point, how did this effect me?

Casuals were told at present our jobs were okay, and what days and hours we worked already would not be changed until further notice. At least for the short-term that was a relief for my workmates and I to hear. When we returned to our work stations after the meeting ended, you could tell the news had a dramatic effect on the entire warehouse; infact, there was a solemn feeling throughout the rest of the day.

I stopped to talk to a fellow casual worker like myself. I knew he was the only bread-winner for his family, when looking at him, you could physically see the devastation on his face. I asked how this would affect things for him, he told me “it would devastate my life, it will completely destroy us!” There was nothing I could say to him, only that I understood. Later I spent a little time with my leading hand, I asked whether he knew more about how the casuals would hold up in light of the cut-backs; he told me he’d never been so petrified about his job or ours, in the ten years that he’d been with the company, he had never seen it so bad as it is now. That left me with a lot of food for thought.

How do I feel about the ‘dreaded R’ and cut-backs?

In spite of the possible difficulties I could face should I lose my job, I am optimistic that another door will open for me. Making the firm decision to create an online income has reaffirmed that this is the right path that I need to walk. I can either choose to criticise the situation and others, or use what is happening as continual motivation. Everyday at my job I experience some form of ‘motivation’, and it is these moments that I grow thankful for.