Some Watsons staff upset with ‘no sitting’ rule, company says no such policy

Watsons said workers can take breaks as needed at rest areas. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

SINGAPORE - Health and beauty chain Watsons has said it does not have a no-sitting policy, in response to calls from employees and a workers’ rights group to allow workers to sit at their stations and not have to stand for up to eight hours daily.

This comes after eight current and former workers contacted workers’ rights group Workers Make Possible with their complaints. The group then launched a social media campaign on their behalf asking for a change in what it claims was a company policy that does not allow cashiers and promoters to sit while at work.

In response to queries, Watsons said workers can take breaks as needed in rest areas.

“Watsons always sees employee welfare as a priority. We would like to clarify that we do not have a ‘no sitting’ policy,” the company told The Straits Times.

“We remain open to suggestions especially from our colleagues, and will review implementation as appropriate,” it added.

Workers Make Possible, along with a former Watsons employee, met Watsons management on Dec 12 to discuss the issue, and also asked for workers to be given more frequent breaks.

Former Watsons cashier Nuzhatul Iman, 23, who was at the meeting, said pulling a shift at Watsons can be painful and exhausting, and much worse on workers older than herself. Ms Nuzhatul, who is currently back in school studying to be a radiographer, worked part-time at several Watsons outlets during the first half of 2021.

She said: “The policy is that the cashier is not given a chair... Once, I was so tired I sat down to rest at the cash register and I was told off by my supervisor.” She added that most outlets do have a chair in the backroom but, in general, cashiers are not allowed to take the chair to their stations.

A Watsons employee, who declined to be named as she is still with the company, said she has bad aches and pain in her left leg – a result of being on her feet for hours on end.

The 38-year-old single mother takes five nine-hour shifts a week. For the most part, apart from her one-hour lunch break, she is not allowed to sit, she said. “My supervisors close an eye and let me sit down while I’m doing stock taking or in the back room, but mostly, we are told that if we sit down at the cashier, it looks bad to customers,” she added.

She said her supervisors did allow her to take a chair to her station temporarily when she hurt her knee, but that was not a permanent arrangement.

These conditions pushed them to contact volunteer-run group Workers Make Possible, which began a campaign by putting up social media posts, among other things. The group also asked Watsons for a response in September.

Community worker Suraendher Kumarr, a volunteer with Workers Make Possible, said the group was told about the issue by a former worker, which prompted it to take a closer look.

After seeing that many cashiers were not given chairs at the outlets they visited, the group in November began to put up posts about the issue on Instagram. That was when Watsons contacted the group and asked for a meeting.

Mr Kumarr said he hopes Watsons will agree to make it their policy to allow workers to sit during their shifts and to provide appropriate stools or chairs for workers at their cashier stations.

Community worker Kokila Annamalai, who is also involved in the group, said the issue of not being allowed to sit is a much wider one possibly affecting thousands of workers, and that Workers Make Possible has spoken directly about it to close to 30 firms from the retail and food and beverage sectors.

In response to queries, the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU) said Watsons in Singapore is not a unionised company.

It said: “That being said, the union understands that Watsons Singapore is gathering feedback from some of its staff regarding sitting down during shifts.”

Supermarket chain FairPrice said it does not have a policy that requires staff to stand during work duties and that stools are also provided for its cashiers at work.

Dairy Farm Industries, which runs the pharmacy Guardian and supermarket chains Giant and Cold Storage, did not say if its cashiers were provided chairs but said all team members have scheduled break times for rest, with seating available in the rest area.

Why can’t workers sit?

Lecturer at Republic Polytechnic’s School of Hospitality Hilda Ng said many companies have a no-sitting policy as part of their company image and customer service procedures.

She said the policy is part of what is called a “Customer First” approach to help project a positive image of retail staff who are ready to serve and assist customers.

However, more retailers are recognising the importance of looking after their employees, she added.

“Some companies have started to provide stools for their cashiers and/or pregnant staff to rest, while others have created backrooms for staff to take their breaks.”

While there has been greater focus on improving this policy within some retail companies, more can still be done for retail workers, she added.

She said: “Retailers will have to consider redesigning the retail space, adjusting staff-rest policy and refining the customer journey to ensure that the quality of the overall customer experience is maintained while enhancing employee satisfaction at the same time.”

SMMWU added that under the Employment Act, companies in Singapore must allow break times for employees.

SMMWU is the largest union affiliated to NTUC, representing mainly commerce and service workers in the private sector. It said the union stands in solidarity with workers and they are welcome to approach SMMWU to share their concerns and grievances at feedback@smmwu.org.sg

There are no specific provisions for employees being allowed to sit in the Employment Act. 

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