The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

SCORES of former City Market employees protested in front of the House of Assembly yesterday demanding a meeting with the government regarding their severance pay and pension funds.

More than 350 former City Market employees had to join the unemployment line after the foodstore chain folded in March.

The former employees are demanding a collective $3 million severance package and assurances about their pension fund.

While the former employees protested on the outside, Wanslaw Turnquest, former chief inventory control officer at City Market, met in the House of Assembly with Minister of Labour Shane Gibson and Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis.

However, they refused to comment on what happened during the meeting.

One of the protesters, Melony Bodie, said she had worked for City Market for 13 years and since being let go, she has not been able to pay her bills because she “can’t get her money.”

“We got all kind of problems. We have rent bill to pay, mortgage bill to pay, loan bill to pay and the other necessity things of life we all have to pay you know everybody have bills to pay in life and we need money in a financial way to help meet the wealth of the people and the bills of this life to pay,” she said.

“The point is, we came out to get our money because they had told us we would get the money, this time and another time and still they not processed the money and released the money. That’s why we came out here so we can let the people know that we have not received nothing at all and it’s a shame and disgrace. It’s a crying shame, citizens of the Bahamas, you work for people of this Bahamas and it just like you wasn’t no staff or employed or working with them, how they treat you is very bad. Nobody in no other country will treat their people the way we have been treated. Something must be done and it should be done and it cannot be put off because its 2013 and from last year April it wasn’t done. The company was already sold and the money went into whoever hand it went into and now it’s time for them to release it and pay us the money.

“Pay us the money. I don’t see how you could sleep in a time like this, it’s time to shake up, it’s time to fly right, it’s time to get right.”

Last month the former employees rejected a $1.4 million severance pay offer. Mr Turnquest said the total severance package for the 350 former employees of City Markets should be around $4.3 million.