Hopes chocolate will ease pain
A LAIDOFF Cadbury worker hopes one of the last boxes of a cult classic chocolate produced at the closed Dunedin factory will help heal the mental health wounds of redundancy.
Containing 64 blocks of Caramilk chocolate, the box was snapped up last year by former Cadbury frontline team leader Megan Fairley for $53.60 at a factory sale.
Caramilk was discontinued in 1994, but a limited edition run in July 2017 led to a million blocks selling out in just three weeks, before blocks began changing hands for up to $50.
But the box contains bittersweet memories for Ms Fairley, laid off last year after 17 years with the company.
About a year ago, her nightshift team produced the last box of the popular chocolate.
She is now appealing for ideas about what she should do with the box, believed to be the last full box left.
Ms Fairley would like to raise money for a mental health charity, following her experience with mental health issues after she was made redundant.
The poor treatment of workers by Cadbury owner Mondelez during the redundancies affected others, too, she said.
She spoke of the despondent reaction of staff when it was announced plans to close the Dunedin factory would lead to the loss of about 350 jobs.
‘‘It’s about raising awareness of the connection between mental health and redundancy,’’ she explained.
‘‘The day you’re made redundant, that’s not the end of it. ‘‘That’s the beginning.
‘‘You can go out there and make a difference.’’
Last year, the 39yearold launched shopping platform Notion Fashion from her Musselburgh home, aiming to highlight Dunedin and New Zealand designers, and she planned to organise two other events to raise money for mental health charities.