Are you buying trainers?

Without Prejudice

Notice: I have had to reword this post to take out the obvious references to a large maufacturer of sports apparell and shoes, however, my opinion about this remains that the staff should have been paid and it if results in the worldwide shaming of that organisation - so be it. It is a disgrace, to say the least.

I only have the word of one person about this and whilst I have not been able to corroborate this story, I would hope it is not the truth.

As it transpires either the whole of BigTrainers UK or some franchisee of BigTrainers in the UK pays their staff on the 27^th of the month.

However, we all know that in the UK, Christmas means all the more to everyone and so in December, everyone gets paid before Christmas, there usually is no debate about that.

My source indicates that the pay-run should have first occurred on Friday the 21^st of December but they were offered excuses and promised they would be paid on the 27^th of December. After Christmas – How hellish it would have been for the little person that works for BigTrainers who lives from salary to salary and might have had to borrow to meet the demands of Christmas.

Well, the 27^th has come and gone and the people who serve you with smiles in a BigTrainers store you might have visited shopping for Christmas presents in the UK have received no Christmas cheer from their employers as the tills are ringing in the cash. They have not yet been paid. The company is doing very well.

I also hear that people who have returned to BigTrainers stores to either exchange their products or seek refunds have be asked to return on a later date because they are swamped with post-Christmas sales crowds.

Are you buying trainers? Spare a thought and think again.

Have we now imported sweat-shop practices to the UK? However, that is beside the point, if in fact, there are any employees that work for BigTrainers either directly or through some agency and have not yet been paid their December 2007 salaries, this is one time to live up to their big-time slogan. JDI spells the acronym.

Postscript

If however, this is not the case, some failure in management and staff development is allowing for a rumour like this to thrive. One can only apologise.