Back in around 2005 I took on a part time cleaning job on the same site as B.P.S under a contract cleaning firm. Things were about to get really nasty.

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There were four of us who would spend a contracted two hours each doing cleaning duties. During a period of time when one of the workers was on holiday I agreed to cover part of his 'zone' as overtime. After he returned the cleaning company began to insist it was my job all along and tried to force me to do it within my normal hours for no extra pay. 

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They were desperate to save money. I tried and tried to resolve the issue in a civil manner but what do you do when people are determined to lie and lie again to manipulate you into doing what they want. What they were asking was impossible in the time frame I had and what made matters worse was the area they were trying to force on me had been newly refurbished including expensive new floor lining that needed to be kept clean or it ran the risk of staining permanently. Eventually the manipulation escalated to threats of terminating my employment if I continued to 'refuse to do my job'.

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It was a scary time for me. At the time finances were really, really tight and I had taken on the part time cleaning role in order to make ends meet. I simply could not afford to lose the job. What was even scarier was a well known character at B.P.S called Len Locke.

 

Len was the factory manager. This was not a man you wanted to fall out with. He was a no nonsense manager. Very old school. He was highly suspicious of anyone he suspected of making excuses. on one occasion he walked over the the hand packing area where two or three young agency guys would work. I'm not sure exactly what transpired but I think one of them decided to answer him back. {You learn very quickly to do what he tells you to do} and the next thing we heard this really loud shout  GET OUT NOW!!! I don't think I've every heard some one shout so loud. Len has a real bad temper on him. As I said, he's not the man you want to fall out with. He could make life very difficult for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As a Christian with an atheist background my first response to someone claiming that God spoke to them was to suspect them of being mentally ill.  My second question was how on earth am I supposed to recognise God's voice. Over time I realised there usually an audible voice as such but a voice tat speaks to your heart. This is probably going to sound a bit weird {and it did to me in the early years of my Christian life} but I will tell you what transpired. I asked God a simple question. 'What do I do?' and I stopped for a moment to see if I got an answer. At that moment it was as if a voice spoke to me. 'Speak to Len'. My initial response was 'I can't. What if I get sacked? Then I heard again and this time it was a quote from the scriptures, 'The heart of the ruler is in God's hands. He will direct it any way he wants to.'

 

The fear was still there to an extent. If Len found out about that brand new expensive flooring and how it had not been cleaned for six weeks he might hit the roof. I could be out on my ear. At the same time I think faith overruled fear and I trsuted that God was going to sort it out. I looked up and Len was walking across the packing floor.

 

I asked him for a couple of minutes of his time to speak to him and he was in an unusually good mood. He was more than happy to talk and as I explained what had happened he was very calm. When I finished speaking he thought for a moment and said. 'Well, officially, I can't get involved because this is an issue between you and your employer {In this case the cleaning company} but what I will do is pass on your concerns'  As Len was walking away he stopped and walked back. "So this area isn't actually being cleaned?' he said. Can you do me a favour? Are you ok to stop for an extra half hour each night just for this week and get that area clean. Don'y worry, I'll make sure you get paid for it.' So I said yes.

 

The great thing about this is, For that week I actually got to do that extra job on bps overtime rates which were twice as much per hour as what the cleaning company would have paid {if they had paid me at all!}. A few nights later the cleaning supervisor showed up. {An encounter I was growing to dread}. As soon as she saw me she was unusually positive, nice and respectful. "Oh "Hi Steve. How are you? Everything ok? Oh by the way, don't worry about that area we told you to clean. We'll sort that out. It was just a misunderstanding, ok? If there anything you need help with just let me know."

 

Seriously, I has been banging my head against a brick wall so to speak with these guys for ages. It was crazy. In just a short time it turned right around. Goodness knows what Len Locke actually said to them but I can imagine. {If it was anything like his famed management style I would have bought a ticket to watch it!}. That cleaning supervisor was falling over herself to be nice to me. I recall those vital words so clearly now, "The heart of the ruler is in the hands of God. He turns it whatever way he wants."I learned an important lesson. However big or imposing your manager might be, remember, God is much, much bigger.

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footnote: The present on site cleaning company at BPS is not the same one depicted in this story.

 

darkness2light.me is based in London, UK                   darkness2light.me@gmail.com