A Virginia lingerie store has 15 new jobs and has gone weeks without any takers. Owner Karen Edbrooke said that she has been looking for unpackers, order fillers and responders to enquires but she hasn’t had any luck because the applicants say they can get more money just by not working.
Ms Edbrooke runs the lingerie and swimsuit store Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore on Sandgate Rd. She said that they currently have loads of product shipments and deliveries on hold. In the last few weeks, the shop owner said that she could not cope with the demands because she could not get applicants to stay or keep working.
Despite advertising for the job openings more than a month ago, Ms Edbrooke said many of the applicants actually do not want a job or prefer shorter work hours. She believes that many people have been demotivated to find work because of the government’s JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments amid this coronavirus crisis.
One applicant told the shop owner, “I can just get more [money] by not working,” referring to the government’s stimulus.
Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore is not the only retail store struggling to find staff.
“I have a friend in the same situation, his staff won’t come back to work. It’s ridiculous,” a follower of the store said on Facebook.
According to senior industrial relations specialist, Michael O’Brien, it is the retail and service industries struggling the most during this COVID-19 crisis. He said that those with junior roles work fewer hours but may also benefit from JobSeeker or JobKeeper for their second or third jobs.
“We are offering casual positions at the retail award rate, which can be accessed online to anyone. Hours vary on what you can offer us – anything from 16 hours to 38 hours,” Ms Edbrooke said.
But Ms Edbrooke said they received an overwhelming response even from outside Brisbane hours after her story broke in the media on 2 Aug 2020.
Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore has been in business since 1992 and caters to well-endowed women. Most of the products are imported from America and this Virginia lingerie store also sells maternity bras, posture bras and bridal wear exclusively for big girls.
They claim to have the “largest range of fuller figured bras in Australia.”