That is not the yellow from the egg

For today's blog post, we will once again report on our impressions at work. Now that we have been there for a month, we have gained a good overview of the employers and employees in the Canadian work world. We will also answer the questions that arose in the post 'You are hired:' 'Are we really officially employed?' / 'Do we really get paid $13 per hour?' / 'Why wasn't there an employment contract, is that even legal?'

In my first week, my work week started on Sunday (the week actually starts on Sunday here - a very strange rule) because of a sales day that happens approximately every 3 months. This means that all textiles are 50% off and a rush of customers is expected who want to snatch up the bargains. So, I was in for a 6-day work week, hooray - so many days for hanging clothes. By now, I am a pro at hanging and faster than my two colleagues. Unfortunately, it's still not fun, and it bothers me that I can't use my brain. Also, my shoulder started to act up from excessive hanging. When I told my colleagues about my problem, they said I should talk to my supervisor. I was a bit hesitant since I had just started working there. But when it really became unbearable, I was able to convince my supervisor Kyle that I work somewhere else, luckily - I didn't think they would react so nicely. From then on, I was allowed to 'rotate': that means hanging clothes in the store, along with the morning 'push and pull' (making room for the new items from production - otherwise, the clothes racks would be overflowing) and maintaining the store, where we create order in a different department every day. We sort the items according to their colored price tags (every week there is a new colored price tag). Additionally, we sort out the items that don't belong in the department and bring them to where they belong. Finally, I can walk around. Finally, I can use my brain. Finally, varied work. The 'sorting out' of items that are too old or of which there are too many in the store became more complicated from week to week because the manager decided that not all items should be donated to developing countries. Instead, summer and winter items should be kept. No one could really explain the reason for this, maybe for bad times. Summer items include clothes that are light, bright, and colorful - they can also have long sleeves. Winter items are the complete opposite, dark and heavy... well. That was just the beginning, in addition, short-sleeved t-shirts or tops with hangers were packed in moving boxes. Again, no reason was given. In addition, pants with a specific number on the price tag should also be packed in moving boxes. And last but not least, there was a Halloween box where everything that somehow looks like a costume goes... as you can see, quite confusing. I was only told about this after I had already put quite a few items in the donation box - which of course caused trouble... I tried my best, as did my colleagues, who also didn't really understand this sorting out process.

My colleagues are a pretty diverse bunch, most of them come from the Philippines. The rest are from India, Russia, China, Japan, Tibet, USA, Great Britain, and of course Canada. The 'seating arrangement' in the break room resembles a teen movie. Where each group (cool kids, nerds, Asians, etc.) sits together at a table. This pattern can also be seen in the break room, but more divided by ethnicity. I try not to really assign myself anywhere, when the sun is shining, I prefer to spend my breaks outside, together with the smokers. Those are Matt (half-American), Mike (originally from Quebec), and Maja (cute 19-year-old) - all three Canadians and some of the nice ones. On the first payday (every 2 weeks on Fridays), the three of them invited us to a small drink at the nearest pub (Patrick joined after his shift). Among others, Kim (around 40, blonde-blue-pink hair, super nice), Bart (supervisor who actually shouldn't be allowed to go drinking with us), Jody (nurse from Great Britain), and John (quiet Filipino with very good English skills) were also there. All in all, a very funny group that entertained the pub properly. Due to the noise, we often received a gesture from our server to be quieter. The culinary highlight of the evening was truffle fries with parmesan... exquisite. It was a very fun evening overall, and it was nice to finally be out with people again. Our colleagues apparently go for a drink every payday, and we will probably join them more often.

In the donation center (Patrick): I have already mentioned my tasks in one of the previous blog posts: mostly heavy, bulky, and many items are received from customers and then sorted onto the corresponding carts. As it seems, some customers are bored and want to test our resilience, so they throw half a library or even a whole wardrobe loose into our donation carts. My colleagues and I then have to transfer them into boxes or garbage bags. Additional work that we mostly don't need, since the donation center is the central drop-off point in Victoria to get rid of stuff. To make matters worse, there are people at Value Village who have no idea what they're doing. For example, there is one person (as tall as wide, likes to stand around and give instructions) who has never worked in the donation center and lectures me on how to do my job. For example, I'm not allowed to move the carts with the items alone, even though I'm as heavy as an empty cart and also wear steel-toed shoes. Work safety and stuff. If work safety were such a big issue, then I would start by securing the shelves and lockers in the break room to the wall, where mice also reside. Additionally, I once moved pallets in a supermarket for a short time, which were much heavier than a filled cart weighing around 500 kg.

My colleagues are all very nice so far, and the work is fun. Each of us is entitled to 3 breaks during the shift. So, basically a break every 2 hours. However, in our 7-person team, there are a few (3 to be exact) who are particularly quick at taking breaks (meaning they want to take a break after just one hour on duty), constantly ask if they can leave early today, or refuse to stay longer when we are being overrun by customers. In general, in Canada: When the end of the shift is displayed on the clock, everything is dropped and left. Then you just stay alone with a mountain of donations on the sidewalk, which unfortunately also attracts all the drug addicts who then rummage through all the donations. They often break things too. One or the other of these special people is said to have vandalized a former employee's car because he wouldn't give them a cigarette. So, all four tires of the car were slashed. That's what they say, that's what I was told. Caution is definitely advised. When I have the late shift (2:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.), my car is right in front of the donation center from a certain time anyway. Additionally, I always have some object with me that I can use for self-defense in case of emergency. You never know what goes on in the minds of such people. Did we mention that we have never seen so many drug addicts as in Vancouver and also in Victoria? Oh Canada...

Now to our questions from the blog post 'You are hired.' Yes, we are really employed at Value Village. It is normal for there to be no written contract between employee and employer, and this is legally correct as well. We asked again. Our supervisor looked at us with some bewilderment and I don't think she was quite sure what we meant. But she confirmed our research on employment contracts on the internet. Now, the most important aspect, the salary. Our first paycheck was quite low since we received it after only 1 week. But it really was $13 per hour that we received. It looked better on our second check (2 weeks later). In Canada, employees are paid either every 2 weeks or on the 15th and 30th of the month. To our surprise, overtime is very well compensated, namely at around $19/hour. This means that we will gladly work more from now on if it is offered to us. Because you don't just stay longer, a supervisor asks if you want to stay longer, and if you agree, you are allowed to stay longer. When it's closing time here, it's closing time, everything is dropped and left, and you eagerly swipe your card out of the system - after all, it's closing time... Done... Finished! Off home.