Workers at Premier Foods Limited (Peptang) continue to come forward with fresh claims, reinforcing allegations of poor workplace conditions and financial exploitation under the current management.
New claims indicate that sales personnel are being forced to personally fund marketing activities, including purchasing Peptang products to offer as samples, as the company has allegedly withdrawn financial support for promotional efforts.
Workers say this is happening at a time when the company has reportedly tampered with the quality of certain products, such as its line of squashes, making them harder to sell in an already competitive market.
There are further allegations that Peptang lacks an active return policy for expired or damaged stock, leaving employees to bear the cost of unsold products. Sales teams claim they are required to buy back expired items from the market, as management refuses to take responsibility.
Employees say this has worsened since last month, when general trade merchandisers were demoted to pre sellers without prior communication, leading to increased expiry issues at minimarts.
In addition to these challenges, fuel allowances on company fuel cards have reportedly been slashed by half, while sales targets have been doubled.
Workers say they are now under immense pressure to meet unrealistic expectations without adequate support or resources.
Sales representatives are allegedly being forced to handle both selling and merchandising duties while also covering expiry costs, which they argue should be the company’s responsibility.
Many employees claim they are now in financial distress due to these policies.
Concerns over transport allowances persist, with workers stating that the company has not paid commuter allowances for the month despite the seventeenth approaching.
Those who rely on public transport say they are being asked to justify why the company should cover their fare, while at the same time failure to report to work results in disciplinary action.
These latest claims follow previous allegations of salary delays, unpaid facilitation fees, and intimidation against workers who speak out.
Employees say that despite these concerns being widely exposed, management has taken no steps to address them, deepening frustration among the workforce.
Many argue that while Peptang’s investors remain committed to the company, the current leadership lacks proper strategies to support employees and ensure fair working conditions.
“Good evening Cyprian. Thanks for the good work you have been doing. Hide my identity. I am currently working with Peptang as a sales personnel and can justify that everything trending since yesterday is true.
The management does not assist in any way in marketing activities and sampling, forcing us to use part of our wages to buy Peptang products and offer them as samples to convince customers to make purchases. This is happening while the company has tampered with the quality of some products such as the squashes.
There is no active return policy for expired or damaged goods, so whenever products expire in the market, we are forced to buy them because the company refuses to take responsibility. They expect us to match our main competitor, Trufoods, yet they are not supporting us in any way in the market.
As we speak, they have slashed fuel allowance on the fuel cards by half while doubling sales targets for everyone. More pressure is being applied without providing proper tools of trade.
Last month, they demoted general trade merchandisers to pre sellers without proper communication or consultation. This has affected many customers because of expiry issues. You can visit any minimart and confirm.
Sales representatives are now burdened with both selling and merchandising while also covering expiry costs, which should be the company’s responsibility. This has put many of us in financial distress.
The investors are good, but the current management lacks leadership skills and strategies.
Tomorrow will be 17th and those who rely on public transport have not received their commuter allowance for this month. When they ask, they are told to justify why the company should pay them fare yet failing to report to work leads to disciplinary action.”