ABWU Invites Severed Cost Pro Workers to Newgate Street Meeting on Severance and Entitlements

The Antigua and Barbuda Workers' Union (ABWU) has called the recently severed employees of Cost Pro Supermarket to a critical meeting on Friday, 24 July, at 1:30 p.m. at the Union's headquarters on Lower Newgate Street, as it presses ahead with efforts to secure the severance and other benefits owed to more than 100 workers left jobless by the supermarket's abrupt closure.

The Union said matters pertaining to severance and other entitlements will be discussed, and it urged affected workers to bring along their employment records — including job letters and pay slips — to the gathering. Those documents are essential to the accurate calculation of each worker's entitlements, a process the Union has been advancing since the store shut its doors.

The meeting is the latest step in the ABWU's response to a closure that blindsided staff. Cost Pro Supermarket ceased operations permanently and immediately on Thursday, 9 July, distributing termination letters to employees at roughly 6:00 p.m. and declaring every position redundant. The letters, dated 9 July, advised workers that the same day marked their final day of employment — issued without prior notice and without consultation with the Union.

Assurances, but No Guarantees

Cost Pro's management indicated at the time that payroll records would be reviewed to determine outstanding wages, accrued vacation pay, notice pay, and severance benefits in line with Antigua and Barbuda's labour laws, with separate payment statements promised by 17 July. Workers were instructed to return all company property, including uniforms, identification cards, keys, and equipment.

Despite those written assurances, employees have alleged they received no firm commitment that outstanding wages, severance, or other statutory benefits will actually be paid. Anxiety has been compounded by unverified allegations circulating among staff that the company and its owner may be preparing to leave the country — claims that have not been independently confirmed but which have deepened fears that workers could be left with nothing.

A Union Mobilised

The ABWU moved quickly after the shutdown. General Secretary David Massiah and President Kem Riley visited the supermarket on the evening of the closure to meet directly with distressed workers, and Union officers convened a formal meeting with the displaced staff the following morning to outline their rights and the support the Union would provide.

The Union's position has been unambiguous: it will pursue every available avenue, including action before the courts, to ensure the employer honours all statutory obligations — severance pay, notice pay, outstanding vacation pay, and any other benefits to which the workers are legally entitled.

The Cost Pro closure also revived the ABWU's long-standing call for Severance Protection Legislation that would establish a fund to safeguard employees' earned entitlements when businesses close or become insolvent. The Union has drawn direct parallels to earlier collapses — including the Jolly Beach Resort and LIAT (1974) Ltd — that left workers fighting for benefits, in some cases for years.

Friday's meeting is intended to keep affected workers informed and organised as that effort continues. Former Cost Pro employees seeking more information have been asked to contact the Antigua and Barbuda Workers' Union at 462-2005.