S$1,200 PAYOUT “RIDICULOUS”
Others in the same situation as Rachel and Tricia felt compelled to update a group chat on Monday about what they saw as a positive outcome.
The group chat, with more than 100 affected employees, was created right after the retrenchment exercise and was a source of support for those affected by the cuts, who would share updates over the months.
Just as people were looking forward to being officially told about the same compensation package, some were instead told that they would be contacted about a “training grant”.
So when Ryan, a former mid-ranking employee in his 30s, received a call the next day informing him that he would be getting an additional sum of S$1,200, he was shocked.
It was a far cry from what he was expecting.
It was also different from the two additional weeks of salary for each year of service that people had been looking forward to, former employees said, noting that rumours had spread before the news was confirmed.
“If from the beginning, we knew upfront that the amount is going to be that little, then we would be a little bit less disappointed,” Ryan told CNA.
“They (the union) asked us to send payslips, they asked us to send bank statements, they asked us to send our employment contracts, a lot of confidential documents. And that’s also the reason why we think it’s going to be a huge amount of money,” he added.
Gavin, who is in his 50s and earned a five-figure sum in his senior position, said the S$1,200 was a humiliation, describing it as “ridiculous” and a “slap in the face”.
“Don’t you think that the more junior people can find jobs easily, while the higher grade people who are perhaps also older, are going to have a little bit more difficulties, and also have more to feed?” he continued.
The union did not consult employees about their needs before heading into negotiations for a better retrenchment package, Gavin added.
“It’s not that I’m not happy with the money, I’m not happy with the outcome and how it was handled, first by Lazada and second by the union,” he said.
In the contract seen by CNA, employees like Ryan and Gavin were told that the money would only be credited to union members who joined FDAWU before Feb 20, 2024, who have paid their full membership fees.
The “settlement” will be “conveyed” to the employees no later than Aug 31, 2024, the contract read, highlighting that “no further claims” can be made on this matter after it has been signed.
The contract also asked that the employees keep the terms of the “settlement” confidential.
The varied retrenchment packages are in line with FDAWU’s most recent statement – the union confirmed on Thursday evening that the employees’ length of service with Lazada, job grades and the validity of their union membership would be factors taken into consideration for their respective payouts.
“This implies that a uniform payout is not applicable,” said the union’s president Julie Cheong.
FDAWU cannot share more details about the payout due to a confidentiality clause in an agreement signed between the union and Lazada Singapore, she added.