Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 27, 2020 - May 3, 2020

THE unmistakable mood of the nation’s workforce is one of apprehension and contingency amid mounting anxiety over livelihoods.

Employees and employers are digging deep into reserves in dealing with the ripple effects of stalled operations resulting from the Movement Control Order, which has been in place since March 18.

At least a dozen food and beverage players in the Klang Valley have gone belly-up since the MCO was implemented, restaurateur Adam Ng tells The Edge.

“Many others have liquidated and rental contracts are not being renewed,” says Ng, the owner of dine-in Marmalade and Grizzly Café, and a member of MyFNB, a loose alliance of nearly 1,000 F&B retailers and suppliers petitioning for financial aid and abatement from the government.

Many restaurateurs are committed to providing staff with lodging in addition to paying their wages, but the latter has become impossible as at this month.

“We are 95% down in average daily sales, and that is the general feedback across F&B outlets in malls. Many cannot pay their staff in April,” Ng says, adding that he has applied for government assistance to pay salaries.

Meanwhile, the staff of an international consumer retail company have also received the dreaded letter from management mandating salary cuts in stages, starting with the issuance of a voluntary half to full-day no-pay leave. Nearly 80% of its workforce responded to the appeal by applying for unpaid leave for the longer-term good of the company.

As the pandemic worsened and the MCO went into its third phase, the consumer retail company implemented a four-day work week, which shaved a further 20% off salaries. Floor staff, who are on the lowest pay scale in the company, have so far remained exempt from the cost-cutting.

“We have been informed of the necessity of these measures to stay afloat and that they will be reviewed in May,” says manager Raymond Goh*. “The company has been kind enough to pay us our bonuses and we have also been told to approach the management if we run into severe liquidity problems.

“Although we are duly taxed by these drastic measures, the company is bottoming out at 90% below our sales target. On our part, we have to be realistic about employment — it’s either a little or nothing at all.”

The founders of a fintech start-up, meanwhile, will be taking home only half their pay this month. “From the looks of things, we will not be generating income for the next three to four months. In order to keep our staff, the founder and myself will halve our salaries this month, and likely cut deeper in the coming months,” says co-founder Leslie Tan*, who will be applying for government help under the Wage Subsidy Programme.

Bracing itself for further economic impact, another fintech firm announced a blanket pay cut of 50% for six months starting April or May, with the assurance of a monthly review.

With its biggest clients — banks — operating at half their capacity and unable to push for retail sales during the MCO, marketing campaigns have dwindled.

“Half the team accepts and understands the reality of the crisis from a macroeconomics standpoint. This is, after all, a global crisis. Some are thankful to still have a job, but many struggle to meet their housing commitments and children’s international school fees,” says advertising manager Ali Hassan*. “Management has urged staff to reorient their lifestyles, even to the point of withdrawing their children from international or private institutions and seeking an alternative to education if necessary.”

Freelancers whose work depends on events and personal engagements are looking at a minimum of six months without income as cancellations and postponements pour in.

“All my shoots from March until September have been postponed. Big weddings will not be happening in the next 12 to 18 months in the name of social distancing,” says Anna-Rina Rahim, a freelance wedding photographer. Service providers like herself encourage clients not to cancel bookings, as it destroys their livelihood.

“We do not have the means to return the deposit, as our contracts state that down payments are non-refundable commitments to us,” she says. “A photographer in our circle had a client pull a force majeure on him. That’s immensely strenuous for a freelancer.”

Anna-Rina has proactively reached out to clients to provide options such as deferrals on shoot dates or conceptual changes in photography within the boundaries of social distancing. For example, they can have bridal or family portraits instead of wedding shoots.

By and large, virtual fitness workouts are common, but it can also be counter-productive for fitness trainers, whose practice depends on the personalised and hands-on coaching they provide.

“The situation is certainly worrying. I am still following up with clients, but I have to think of different ways to move my business forward, should the MCO be extended. If it is relaxed without being lifted completely, I would still maintain health precautions and see one client a day instead of five,” says freelance personal trainer Eric Koh. “But if the lockdown drags on for months, I would have to reinvent the business model.”

The local entertainment industry ranks among the most adversely affected by the pandemic. A survey by the Department of Statistics in March found that 38% pf those working in the industry have lost jobs as a result of Covid-19. This is followed by food service with 35% experiencing job losses. The survey interviewed 168,182 people aged 15 and above from March 23 to 31.

For professional singer and presenter Janet Lee, all bookings for corporate shows and private events have either been cancelled or postponed indefinitely since February.

Lee has up to nine shows in a busy month, down to two in a low season.

“Even after 14 years in showbiz, it varies from year to year. But it is usually busy at the year-end and beginning of the new year, and slower mid-year. For now, zilch,” Lee says.

“The idea of reinventing myself as a talent — I don’t know how it can pan out in the current climate. For now, my clients have been exploring the idea of doing live performances online. There is the technological aspect to settle. So, if it works out, it would be a different dimension to live entertainment as the public knows it. But, for now, I don’t know what to do.”

Seasoned freelancers are accustomed to the peaks and lows of business in an ordinary calendar year, but not all have reserves beyond the second or third month.

For now, a complete overhaul in priorities and lifestyle is the most obvious way forward as our society mulls its next step.

 

*Names have been changed as requested by the individuals

 

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