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2009-03-07 17:43:05 UTC
I work up front in the car showroom office, my bosses also have their own office up front as well where they do sales and deal with customers, the mechanics work out back in the workshop.
Our lunchroom is located in the workshop, my bosses expect me to mingle with the mechanics on breaks, I do not as we have scantily clad pictures of women around the walls of the lunchroom, I feel embarrassed and humiliated eating there, I've been forced to eat in cafes or outside the workplace as my boss only cared that the mechanics were happy when I complained, he asked me what I expected him to do he said that if he removed the pictures the mechanics wouldn't work at all, two years later the pictures are still there, I've observed now the calendar for this year the pictures are wearing nothing compared to the last few years where the calendar girl was at least covered a bit, it is not limited to the calendars (there's 2 for some reason both nudes) there are also assorted pictures (of naked or suggestive posed women) on the walls taken from the various mens magazines that the guys read during breaks, often with fully nude centrefolds on display when not being read!
another issue is our workplace has no proper disposal practice for paper, my bosses fill their bins with paper then when it's full pour the paper into large boxes in the store room once every 3 months I have to get garbage bags and empty the boxes into the bags, so they can go to the local land fill, bending over to do this is very bad for my back, when I complained about it they said they'd get one of the guys to empty to boxes into the bags but 3 months later came back and demanded I empty the boxes as the boxes were getting full, they were running out of space and their bins were almost full.
another safety issue is they buy everything in bulk, once a month they buy a big box full of reams of printing paper, when it is delivered I have to open the box and stack the reams in the compactous on a shelf, what's the issue? well the shelf is above my head, I've asked for a small ladder or something to be supplied to do that job as it is not doing good for my back stretching above my head, but my boss has said if I want one to buy it myself though I'm pretty sure that under the occupational health and safety laws they have to supply one for me.
same goes for the ladies toilets, when I pointed out that they are lacking sufficient facilities for that time of the month, they said if I wanted to use pads to purchase a bin myself and empty it myself, the toilets are on one side of the workshop the rubbish bin is on the otherside of the workshop, it would mean emptying the bin would require carrying the waste across the workshop where all the men can see why should I embarrassed like that? they also said the previous person I took over from used tampons, at this time I'd never used tampons, but are now forced to as my workplace does not comform to standards, using tampons is making me sick, I hope that eventually my tampons clog the toilet it would serve them right for ignoring my requests!
is there anybody I can express these issues to anonymously? I'm concerned that my bosses would take legal action against me (after removing the calendars and stuff) and saying I'm lying, I do not want to lose my job, as they pay me well for the work I do, however the standard could and SHOULD be better than it is!