Property agents protest against arbitrary sacking
Print Edition
MORE than 200 real estate agents who worked for Fang.com, a leading property website, protested near the city government building at People’s Square after they were abruptly dismissed.
The agents said that more than 1,500 employees nationwide received text messages on September 28 and 29, informing them that they were being fired for fudging sales figures.
The Shanghai agents, approximately 300 of them, claimed they were each owed around 15,000 yuan (US$2,364) in unpaid wages and commission on an average.
The protestors later went to the company’s office in Pudong.
“I did not receive my commission for August and any money for September,” an agent surnamed Yuan said. “We are not locals and two months without income is tough.”
The agents said they were told by their managers to ignore the text message and continue to work as usual during the National Day holiday. But the dismissals were confirmed on October 8.
The text messages claimed they were being fired for faking lease contracts. They were given the option of appealing to the company on email.
Fake transactions, or shuadan, is common on all online platforms, particularly among e-commerce platforms, real estate websites and car ride-hailing apps. Users can set up several accounts and pretend to be both the service provider and receiver that gives them more bonus money or a better rating.
The protestors said the sackings were arbitrary.
“The company just called clients on phone, and if the clients did not answer, it was deemed a fake one,” another agent, surnamed Zheng, said.
However, some of them did admit uploading fake orders but claimed it was done with the tacit consent of the local management. “Otherwise it wouldn’t involve so many people,” Xu said.
Yang Huixin, an agent, told Shanghai Daily that to settle a lease on the platform, an agent just needed two identity cards, two phone numbers and a picture with two people pretending to be landlord and the tenant.
Targets to meet
“The company did not charge commission to attract more clients for the lease business,” Yang said. “But the agents had targets to meet. Most people fake lease contracts and focus on businesses with better returns.”
Both Yang and Zheng said they were used by the company to create high transaction numbers, and that they were fired after their purpose was achieved.
In a statement, Fang.com said there had been a huge jump in fake orders, and that it had been cracking down on such practices since the beginning this year.
The company said it had received some appeals by the agents on emails but claimed that about 90 percent of them were still providing fake evidence.
A local lawyer, Li Huaping, said if a company is about to sack its employees, they have to give them 30 days notice. If there are more than 20 employees, it has to hold meetings with the employees’ representatives.
“Even if the rules are violated, the labor union must be informed,” said Li.
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