The sudden permanent shutdown of Costpro Supermarket in Antigua and Barbuda has left more than 100 workers abruptly unemployed, triggering urgent advocacy from the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union (ABWU) to defend the livelihoods and legal rights of affected employees.
On Friday morning, ABWU General Secretary David Massiah led a delegation of senior union officials in a meeting with displaced workers at the union’s Freedom Hall headquarters. The gathering focused on walking workers through their legal rights and financial entitlements tied to the mass redundancy, as well as outlining the full scope of support the union will provide throughout the claims process.
Union leaders have given a formal guarantee to former Costpro staff that they will exhaust every possible legal channel to force the employer to meet all of its statutory obligations. This includes pursuing court action if necessary to secure all owed payments: severance pay, compensation for unused notice periods, accumulated unpaid vacation pay, and every other legally mandated benefit workers are owed.
Affected workers have been instructed to collect and organize all key employment documentation, including formal job offer letters, recent pay stubs, and any other official employment records. This paperwork is critical to ensure accurate calculation of severance and other entitlements, speeding up the claims process once formal action begins.
Beyond supporting the displaced Costpro workers, the ABWU used the incident to renew its longstanding push for national Severance Protection Legislation. Union representatives emphasized that the supermarket’s abrupt closure once again highlights a gaping hole in the country’s current labor protections, and that a formal statutory severance fund is urgently needed to guarantee workers’ earned benefits when companies cease operations.
ABWU leaders noted that the union has advocated for this policy for years. Had the legislation and associated protection fund already been implemented, the 100+ affected Costpro workers would not be facing ongoing uncertainty over benefits they earned through years of dedicated service to the company.
This is not an isolated incident in Antigua and Barbuda, the union pointed out. Precisely the same scenario of unpaid worker benefits after business closure played out previously with high-profile shutdowns including Jolly Beach Resort, LIAT (1974) Ltd, and Tranquility Bay. The union stressed that Costpro workers should not be forced to go through the same stressful, prolonged fight for earned pay that previous displaced workers have endured.
Current national labor laws do not go far enough to protect workers’ earned benefits when companies become insolvent or permanently cease operations, according to the ABWU. No worker should ever be left in the dark questioning whether they will receive the severance and other benefits they are legally entitled to after losing their job through no fault of their own.
The union closed by reaffirming its unwavering commitment to the former Costpro Supermarket employees, stating that it will remain by their side and continue all advocacy and legal action until every single outstanding entitlement is paid in full.