The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Former employees of the now-defunct City Market supermarket chain have “lost faith” in the legal system, a spokesman for the group said yesterday, telling Tribune Business that 80 per cent had still “not received a dime”.

Whanslaw Turnquest, former inventory control auditor at City Markets, told Tribune Business in a brief interview: “The employees are very upset and they have lost faith in the legal system.

“We are now at this late hour, months after the stores closed down. It’s already been sold and the employees still don’t have their money. There are 300-plus persons who still haven’t got their money.”

Mark Finlayson, principal of City Markets’ 78 per cent majority shareholder, Trans-Island Traders, told this newspaper on Wednesday that City Markets workers have yet to receive their severance pay and benefits because the $3.5 million sale of the former supermarket chain’s leasehold interests has still to formally conclude.

Mr Finlayson said the payment from Super Value owner, Rupert Roberts, was still held in an escrow account as attorneys for both sides continued to complete paperwork associated with the deal. He blamed the delay on issues stemming from City Markets’ 2006-2010 ownership by BSL Holdings.

Mr Turnquest, however, challenged those statements yesterday, telling Tribune Business: “Super Value has move into the City Market spremises at Cable Beach and Mr Finlayson is suggesting that the deal is not yet concluded. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Separately, Tribune Business was told yesterday that in negotiations with the employees and their attorneys, Mr Finlayson had not explicitly committed to use the sale proceeds to pay them what they were due.

Meanwhile, Mr Turnquest added: “Eighty per cent of the employees haven’t received a dime as yet. Only the persons over 25 years got 16 per cent of their pension. The courts have already awarded $2.8 million to the non-union members. Then there were the 10 employees in Freeport who also got a judgment in their favour.”

Mr Turnquest was referring to an injunction issued by Justice Longley on April 17, in which it was ordered that Bahamas Supermarkets and Mr Finlayson either be restrained by injunction from disposing of funds from the pending sale involving the company, or its assets, in the amount of $189,117.

Mr Turnquest said he and former employees were set to meet with their Nassau attorney, Stephen Turnquest, to discuss the way forward in the matter.

Whanslaw Turnquest added that he hoped to have the employee severance and benefits dispute resolved before the end of the year.