Angry staff at Farmers, Whitcoulls

Workers at department store chain Farmers are angry and nervous after being told to take pay cuts.

James Pascoe Group, which owns retail chains Pascoes The Jewellers, Stewart Dawsons, Goldmark, Farmers, Stevens and Whitcoulls sent a letter to staff on April 8 announcing 20 per cent pay cuts and redundancies.

First Union representative Kirstin Miller said the redundancies announced so far were predominantly at Farmers’ head office in Auckland. They were believed to involve about 160 people.

The letter from James Pascoe owners Anne and David Norman said that if retail was not opened up by May, the pay cuts would increase to 30 per cent and then 40 per cent if the shutdown extended beyond May.

Pay would not go below the government wage subsidy level of $585 per week, the letter said. James Pascoe had received $2.72 million in wage subsidies for 429 staff members.

Once the stores were reopened the pay rate would return to 80 per cent until close to normal levels of business were achieved, the letter said.

The letter expressed sadness at the decision but said the current retail climate had been made worse by the battle against ‘‘the invisible enemy’’.

In the months before the Covid-19 crisis, Farmers had indicated to the union that the company was not doing as well as it had in previous years, Miller said.

‘‘But we would hope that they are not using the Covid-19 situation as opportunity to do what they were already doing. [Staff] are now worried about their ongoing employment at Farmers in light of this redundancy news within the company.’’

Farmers staff had been warned not to speak to the media, Miller said.