‘Our world was turned upside down’
THOMAS COOK EMPLOYEES LEFT WITHOUT WAGES STAGE A PROTEST
North East staff join protest over
A FORMER Thomas Cook employee has told of her heartbreak after the firm collapsed and left thousands of people out of a job.
Emma French, who worked as cabin crew for 13 years, was among the North East people who travelled to Westminster to take part in a protest yesterday.
Around 30 former Thomas Cook staff from the region joined hundreds of others from across the country as they handed in petitions to 10 Downing Street and the Business Department calling for a full inquiry into the travel giant’s collapse.
The workers were also calling on Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom to make sure they receive their unpaid wages.
They say they were not paid their monthly wages on Monday – and many are now having problems with rent and mortgage payments, according to the Unite union.
Ms French, of Dudley, said she found out the company had collapsed while she was on holiday in Jamaica.
The 40-year-old said: “My first priority was to get back home.
“We were due to come home with Thomas Cook but all their flights were cancelled.
“I rang the Civil Aviation Authority, which was arranging repatriation. I was
on the first flight out and when I was on the plane I thought, ‘I have not got a job, I’ve lost my job.’”
She said she had not been paid since August and did not know what was going to happen with redundancy payments or whether the staff would get the full amount owed to them.
“I have defaulted on my mortgage payment and my car payment,” said Ms French.
She also said former staff were being given food vouchers to help them survive.
“We are still in absolute shock,” said Ms French. “This was not just a job, this was our life. These people were our family.
“Overnight our whole world has been turned upside down.
“We were being told from our directors that there were buyers, but at the 12th hour [we heard] it’s over, that’s it, the doors are closed.”
She said all former employees wanted an inquiry into the firm’s collapse.
The protest in London was being supported by the union Unite, which represents much of the affected workforce.
Diana Holland, the union’s assistant general secretary, said: “Unite is pleased to be supporting the lobby and protest in Parliament that has been organised by Thomas Cook workers who lost their jobs without warning.
“The fact that workers are coming to Parliament from all parts of the UK demonstrates just how angry workers are with the Government, which they rightly believe has abandoned them.
“This week workers have been left with no income as their wages were not paid.
“Workers do not understand how the profitable Thomas Cook airline was allowed to collapse while the European subsidiaries were able to continue to fly.
“The very least the Thomas Cook workers deserve is to receive an answer to the question as to why the company was allowed to collapse, as well as an explanation from the Government as to its lack of action in the lead-up.”
Following the news that the firm had collapsed, the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, told the House of Commons: “I would like to assure Members of the House that the Government is committed to supporting those affected – including by providing repatriation flights free of charge for all of those people [affected].”