KUALA LUMPUR – Staff members of celebrity preacher Ebit Lew’s grocery store chain Elewsmart have allegedly cried foul over pay cuts amounting to half their salaries in recent months.
Their allegations were revealed on Twitter recently after a netizen by the name of MieyShafa shared screenshots of their complaints, which included written testimonies as well as their salary slips.
MieyShafa, who carries the handle @mieyshafa on Twitter, shared the grouses and documents in a thread posted on Friday.
“Ebit Lew and Elewsmart should read my thread... please do not put up an act anymore,” the user said.
Ebit lew dan Elewsmart sila baca thread saya.. pls jgn berlakon lg pic.twitter.com/r4OjkzHNaT
— MieyShafa (@mieyshafa) September 24, 2021
In the thread, an anonymous former Elewsmart staff member claimed the pay cuts were done without proper explanation.
“It is seemingly due to stock take audits, but the system has never been right even before this.
“Where is the logic of charging a manager when a new shop makes thousands in losses? When we asked to correct the system, they (the upper management) said there was nothing wrong with it,” the former staff member claimed.
“It’s unlikely that managers stole things every month, and all (store) managers had their salaries cut.”
The Twitter thread has gone viral and has received more than 5,500 retweets and 8,563 likes at press time.
The ex-staffer also claimed that there were instances where store managers with salaries between RM2,200 and RM2,300 had received only RM700 a month.
“There is also no overtime for staff, so we just take the RM1,200 basic salary.”
One of the screenshots of the payslips shared by MieyShafa showed a deduction of RM1,783.81 which was listed under “Uniform”.
Another payslip with the identity of the recipient redacted showed RM1,132.26 in deductions under “Cycle Count/Sales”.
In another posting on Saturday, MieySyafa also claimed Elewsmart had cut the salaries of its staff in May, July, and August this year.
Elewsmart telah memotong gaji staffnya selama 3 bulan berturut.. iaitu bulan May 2021, Julai 2021 dan Ogos 2021.. pic.twitter.com/eff6apaRD9
— MieyShafa (@mieyshafa) September 25, 2021
Some of the store managers were also fired from their jobs after kicking up a fuss over the discrepancies in the deductions, MieySyafa claimed.
Despite the popularity of the thread, some users questioned the veracity of the claims.
Twitter user Arif Hazwan asked: “Is this completely true? Sorry to ask but where did you get all this chit chat?
“And why did other cases related to Ebit Lew only surface when his vc (video clip) case went viral? It’s no coincidence that this is happening at the same time. Sorry, but I am just curious.”
Sahih kee benda nii. Maaf bertanya tapi mana bro dapat semua chat chat nii. And kenapa bila viral pasal vc ebitlew baru timbul pasal kes lain berkenaan dia?? Takkan semua benda ni jadi dalam masa yg sama kann. Maaf yee tapi saya just curious jee.
— Arif Hazwan (@ArifHazwan11) September 24, 2021
Another user Zulkifli Mohamad asked why the workers did not file reports with the relevant authorities.
Why didn’t the workers report to the Labour Department? It is the right place to file the reports,” Zulfifli said.
“Sorry, I’m asking because it’s baffling. They should not be afraid to report to the Labour Department. We have rights as workers.”
Kenapa pekerja tu xnak report kat JTK ? Tempat yg sesuai untuk report. Maaf , aku bertanya sebab pelik. Xkan nak report JTK pon takut. Kita berhak sebagai pekerja.
— Zulkifli Mohamad (@vowthenbreak88) September 24, 2021
The Vibes has reached out to Ebit’s management team for comment and has yet to receive a response at press time.
Formed in July last year, Ebit had opened the first Elewsmart store in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor, and has since opened up to 30 outlets nationwide.
The latest allegations surface as the 36-year-old Ebit, whose real name is Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, is presently facing a media storm following allegations of sexual harassment.
Last week, police said they have recorded a statement from the renowned Muslim preacher and searched his house in relation to the case.
It is learnt that the probe is related to a video showing a man, said to resemble the well-known preacher, which has been widely circulating on social media. – The Vibes, September 26, 2021
