Workers now fearful for their future after closure
DEVASTATED, numb and in shock is how workers at SuperValu said they were left feeling after the unexpected closure of the supermarket last Friday.
Many of those employed at the store have been there for close to 20 years and are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their job just weeks away from Christmas and with families to support and mortgages to pay.
The store provided employment for six fulltime and 18 parttime staff before it’s sudden closure last week.
Speaking to the Drogheda Independent this week, nine women who have all worked for the Stockwell Street shop for between 15 and 20 years each, told how they were left distraught and worried for the future after they learned the shop was closing with immediate effect.
Sabrina Brady revealed: ‘I was the first to arrive at work. I parked the car, walked down, I had the keys in my hand, when I got there the front main shutter was already a little bit open. Then there’s a little fire escape door down near the cafe and that just opened and the two bosses popped their heads out and asked me to go up to the office and wait. There was no sign on any door at that stage.’
Cora Duff was the next employee to arrive and she was also ushered up to the room to wait.
Stephanie McLoughlin said she was working on Thursday night when she was approached by one of the bosses and asked to come in the following morning.
Mary McGuirk said she had an inkling something was wrong the previous day. ‘I kind of knew something was going to happen because the night before I had looked at the roster and I noticed seven of us were in which is really unusual so I knew then that something was going to happen. When I came down then that morning the shutter was half up and I didn’t even drive into the carpark because I knew in my heart what was going to happen.
‘We’ve all worked there, more or less our whole lives. It was just like a family.’
Marian Hayes says a sign saying: ‘ This store is now permanently closed. Please do not leave deliveries’ was up when she was on her way in but she never stopped to read it properly until after they had been told the news.
Ericka Ramirez was also asked to come in but couldn’t because she had a hospital appointment. ‘ They told me over the phone instead’.
Danielle Kerr was also told the news over the phone.
‘ They told us there was no liquidator as yet, liquidators were to be appointed and somebody would be in contact with us. The meeting didn’t even last ten minutes. They gave us a handout about what we’d be entitled to and that was it,’ said Mary.
‘We were all absolutely devastated. They just put us outside the door. I think we were all still in shock at that stage.’
Although things have been quiet and staff have experienced both a cut in pay and a cut in hours in recent years, things seemed to be steady and Mary revealed she even took on six new part time staff in recent weeks.
‘I took on six or seven people a few weeks ago for the Christmas period, they allowed us to do that.’
‘It has been very quiet and we were expecting something but the way it was done after 19 years of service was just shocking,’ said Jane Muldoon.
‘ The heating was broken for the last six weeks and they told us they were waiting on a part.’
‘We were so cold in there some days when the heating was broken you literally couldn’t function,’ added Cora.
Ericka said: ‘We took pay cuts a couple of years ago, we stuck by them through thick and thin. We just can’t believe that we’ve been treated like this, with no notice, given everything we’ve been through with the owners.’ The workers have received five weeks pay but are still awaiting news on their P45s and when they will receive the statutory redundancy owed to them.