Nearly 400 Nassau-based City Market employees got a welcome surprise in their pay envelopes Thursdayﾖ a lump sum check for a five percent pay increase retroactive to June 6 and a note advising them that the company was awarding its ‘valued employees’ a five percent increase to reward them for loyal service.
News of the pay increase was released by City Market Managing Director Bruce Souder.
“In recognition of the hard work of our employees, we have in the past awarded salary increases each year,” Mr. Souder said. “Since May of last year, however, we have been involved in collective bargaining negotiations with a union. Although we have negotiated in good faith, and will continue to do so, we remain significantly apart on some issues and we feel strongly that our valued employees should not be adversely affected by the ongoing discussions.
“As an expression of our commitment, we have today awarded a five percent salary increase retroactive to June 6, 2002.”
In addition, Mr. Souder said, family members of City Market employees will continue to be given top priority in consideration of scholarship awards through the Bahamas Supermarkets Foundation Scholarship Program. Some 1500 Bahamians ﾖ many of them sons, daughters and spouses of staff members ﾖ have benefited from the scholarship program since its inception in 1968.
The retroactive pay raise dating back 21 weeks boosted the pay of City Market store workers in Nassau, putting them on an equal scale with employees in administration and Grand Bahama who had received annual increases earlier.
City Market, owned and operated by the publicly-held Bahamas Supermarkets Limited, operates 12 stores in New Providence and Grand Bahama and has about 700 employees.
