SINGAPORE – The Chief Executive Officer of CleanWorks, Mr Won Ken Ching, has resigned over a missing toilet roll.
CleanWorks is a publicly listed company manufacturing toilet cleaning equipment.
Mr Won’s resignation comes after tremendous employee outrage over the lack of a toilet roll in the company restroom.
The toilet roll was normally placed in a common dispenser located beside the sinks in the company restroom. However, the dispenser was empty for a week, leaving employees who use the toilet stranded.
The employee who was at the forefront of the employee protest, Ms Mashit, said, “Due to my lack of time in the mornings, I am accustomed to keeping my needs on hold until I arrive at the company. Thus, I was the first to realise that the dispenser had run out of tissue. I reported it immediately, but no action was taken until after seven days later!
“It is totally unacceptable.”
When interviewed, Mr Won said, “There was a delay in replacing the toilet roll as it took some time for the independent committee to investigate the matter and arrive at its conclusions and recommendations.”
Serious News understands that an independent committee consisting of an external hygiene auditor, a retired senior janitor, and the company’s HR Director was established, following the report of the missing toilet roll.
The Committee encountered difficulties in tracking down the culprit who extricated the toilet roll from its dispenser without permission. It eventually discovered that the toilet roll was not removed; rather, it was never placed there to begin with. The janitor-on-duty was unable to replace the toilet roll as the stockpile of toilet rolls in the utility cabinet had been exhausted.
The stockpile of toilet rolls was not replenished as the company’s HR Department experienced a budgetary shortfall for that month, and could not afford new stock.
The HR Director explained, “The company’s coffee machine broke down in March, and we were faced with the decision of whether to divert funds to purchase a new one.
“We felt that coffee was more important than toilet paper since the former boosts productivity while the latter encourages toilet breaks.”
Said Ms Mashit, “Ultimately, it is not the janitor’s fault or the HR Department’s fault. The CEO is to blame for not allocating enough funds to the HR Department. He should have foreseen unforeseen circumstances like coffee machine breakdowns and made the necessary adjustments.
“This is even more appalling considering that we are a company manufacturing toilet equipment. If we can’t even keep our own toilets equipped, how can we equip others?”
