Nanyang Butterflies - Chapter 4
The Imperial March
Ms Lim stormed in Mr Moe’s office. Mrs Tee was deep in thought.
“What is this daily ranking thing? How come I was't informed?” Ms Lim demanded, her face flushed with anger.
“Calm down. I just thought about it yesterday. I was about to discuss with you.” Mr Moe replied matter-of-factly.
“This is what I think can solve the quality issue you raised.” He added.
“I don’t see how that is possible.”
Mrs Tee added, "Actually I kind of agree with Ms Lim."
Mrs Tee added, "Actually I kind of agree with Ms Lim."
Mr Moe grimaced. He thought he just convinced Mrs Tee and had her buy-in already.
“Look, now every worker churns out different number of pieces. Some can do high volume, some only 20 pieces per day. But we pay them based on which Line they are on. This is not right, isn’t it?”
“Look, now every worker churns out different number of pieces. Some can do high volume, some only 20 pieces per day. But we pay them based on which Line they are on. This is not right, isn’t it?”
“So we check on them and rank them daily?” Ms Lim shouted.
“We measure their output and pay accordingly. But they must also adhere to the quality needed for their Line. Once we have the data, we can know exactly which worker produced how many pieces and how many did not meet the quality criteria.”
“Checking daily will not help improve quality. Teaching and training improves quality.” Ms Lim retorted.
“This will help motivate the workers. Remember Su Zhen, she makes almost 50 pieces a day now, of good quality. We pay her $20 when she should be getting $25, same as the EM One workers or maybe even more. This will help her.”
“She needs to learn how to make EM One uniforms. It’s not like she can jump straight into EM One tomorrow.” Mrs Tee said.
“I know.” Mr Moe raised his pitch with a tinge of dissatisfaction.
"But you will raise her pay right?" Mrs Tee asked.
"Of course!"
Mrs Tee backed off. She knew it's futile to go against her boss. She already gave Mr Moe her word on executing what he wanted to do although deep in her heart she sided with Ms Lim.
"But you will raise her pay right?" Mrs Tee asked.
"Of course!"
Mrs Tee backed off. She knew it's futile to go against her boss. She already gave Mr Moe her word on executing what he wanted to do although deep in her heart she sided with Ms Lim.
“What about workers who cannot make as many pieces?” Ms Lim asked, with a tone of an angry lion.
“They would get less than what they get now. It is only fair.”
“They will leave! We have to hire, teach and train all over again.” She roared.
“If that is what it takes to keep our better seamstresses.”
Ms Lim was fuming. Mrs Tee put her hand on Ms Lim and tried to comfort her. She shrugged her off. Mr Moe looked apologetic and softened his voice and said.
“Ms Lim, you have been the best hire for this company along with Mrs Tee. Ocean will not be here today without you. Both of you. And that is not an overstatement. But for us to progress from here, I will need you to accomplish this.”
Ms Lim said nothing.
"This will solve your quality issue."
Ms Lim was not convinced.
She had tried this with Mei. After Mei got transferred to EM Three, her quality of work just went downhill. Ms Lim checked her work daily and showed Mei the uniforms she produced. The buttons were falling off. Mei didn't take it positively. Nobody liked to be told that they were not good. Ms Lim changed tactics. She tried a softer approach and offered to help her. She suggested training after working hours and also visiting her at home, to babysit her siblings. She even gave her some of her own money.
Ms Lim did spend a whole Sunday at Mei's place helping her. It was tiring but they bonded well after that. Ms Lim was especially comforted.
"Ms Lim, do you know why butterflies hate the rain?" Mei asked.
"I don't know."
"Because if the raindrops hit them, it breaks their wings and they die."
"Then they should stay at home when it's raining, I guess."
"But butterflies are born to fly..."
It was the first time they had a good heart to heart talk. Mei confessed that she actually had another job after her work at Ocean. That was why she was not getting enough rest and kept making mistakes. It was getting popular for girls to take on two jobs. Working at Ocean during the day, then doing more during the night to supplement themselves. It wasn't healthy. But everyone wants to win the rat race.
* * * *
Ocean operated half a day on Saturday and was closed on Sundays. Workers didn’t actually work on Saturday but had to do cleaning up and other activities. They also received their weekly salary on Saturday at noon and had some time to enjoy themselves over the weekend. Su Zhen had been giving the monies to her parents since she started work.
They just moved into their new HDB flat and there were lots of big purchases. Their neighbour bought a colour TV set the other day. Mama Su immediately complained to Papa Su that their own TV was still black and white. So Papa Su, being kiasu by nature, bought a colour TV as well.
Su Zhen didn’t mind giving back to her parents though. After all, her parents sacrificed a lot to raise her. They had always pampered her when she was young. She got toys when other kids didn’t even have clothes. They even got her this job. This week, Papa Su told her to keep the week’s pay. It was time for her to enjoy the fruits of her labour as well. She was delighted.
She decided to treat Brian to A&W, a favourite fast food hangout for youngsters.
“Thanks for this, Zhen.” Brian said “This is really nice of you.”
“Well you always paid, now is my turn.”
Brian turned away for a second.
“I probably can’t treat you dinners as often in the future.”
“Why? Your parents cut your pocket money?”
“No, I am trying to save money.”
“I have never heard about you not having enough money.”
“I wanted to enrol in this music school but they have a bizarre enrolment system. In the end, my Dad and I figured that paying some money would probably be the easiest solution for us.”
“What's the system?”
"Oh, it's complicated. There are like 10,000 Phases. It starts with Phase 1, then Phase 2, then they even have sub-Phases like 2A1, 2A2, 2B, 2C and 2C Supplementary. Then Phase 3. There could be more, I lost count"
"Wow... Really? That's really confusing. How does money help?"
"Well, in Phase 2A1, if we pay some money, my Dad gets to sit in some committee of the music school and I get to enrol into the school."
10,000 Phases (well actually about 7 in reality)
"How much is it?" Su Zhen asked.
“It’s like five digit or something."
"Five digit? Oh my goodness! So it's a school for the rich and famous!"
"No lah, you can volunteer to help in the school activities to get in as well. That's another way to enrol without forking out money."
"Sounds like it's not easy to get in..."
"Yeah, I guess so. But my Dad says he has already prepared the money, but I just want to do my part too. If I use less pocket money and save up, it would help, I guess."
"You are so filial."
Su Zhen pondered for a minute and asked, “But can I help?”
“That won’t be necessary.” Brian said. "But I appreciate that, thanks Zhen."
Su Zhen smiled brightly.
“Sorry to ruin this a bit, but forget what I said about the money.”
He held her hand firmly and smiled too.
Brian sent Su Zhen home that night. They were usually careful not to let Su Zhen's parents see them. But today was not their day. They bumped into Mama Su right at the lift lobby. Brian did a quick and polite "Hi" and took leave. Mama Su looked on disapprovingly and said nothing. Su Zhen just froze. She got a lecture from her parents that night.
Brian sent Su Zhen home that night. They were usually careful not to let Su Zhen's parents see them. But today was not their day. They bumped into Mama Su right at the lift lobby. Brian did a quick and polite "Hi" and took leave. Mama Su looked on disapprovingly and said nothing. Su Zhen just froze. She got a lecture from her parents that night.
* * * *
Mr Moe just ended a call with a client. The uniforms got rejected and they demanded a refund. He was not happy. He just lost $200,000. He did some quick calculations mentally. He probably needed to cut the bottom 10%, or forty workers.
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