Thurso Co-op jobs under threat
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THE possible loss of up to 11 jobs at a Co-op store in Thurso was yesterday described as “horrendous news for the town”.
Local community councillor Don Smith hit out at a plan which will lead to staff hours at the Meadow Lane store being cut by 425 a week. That could result in the equivalent of 11 full-time posts – one-fifth of the workforce – being lost. The store currently employs 20 full-time staff and 35 part-time staff.
A spokesman for the Co-operative Group insisted the reduction in hours is not driven by the economic downturn or by competition from other supermarkets but is a consequence of a UK-wide review.
He stressed that the other Co-op store in Thurso at Mount Pleasant Road is unaffected as is the Angle Park premises in Wick.
However, one member of the Meadow Lane staff told the John O’Groat Journal the announcement about the reduced hours came as a surprise and the mood among the employees is “a bit downbeat”.
“We were not really expecting this and have been told there will have to be voluntary redundancies. The worst case scenario would be that we would lose 11 jobs,” the worker said.
Mr Smith described the plan as “horrendous news for the town” and claimed there would be nothing to replace any jobs lost at the Co-op. “It is a sign of the times we are living in. Jobs are few and far between at the moment,” he said yesterday.
Mr Smith hoped the jobs could be saved and argued that it would benefit Thurso if “local people shopped locally. That would help the situation and help support our community.” He added: “This is more bad news for the town. We can’t afford to lose more jobs.”
Thurso community council secretary Jean Lipa agreed. “It would be a shame if another store started paying off staff, especially when we are losing jobs at Dounreay,” she said.
Outlining the reasons behind the current proposal, the Co-op spokesman said: “We have conducted a review of staffing levels at our stores, including Thurso, to introduce fairer and more consistent standards across the Co-operative estate.
“This includes introducing a more accurate way of determining the optimum number of working hours required to run each store while maintaining the same level of service across all our outlets.
“Unfortunately, this means a reduction in the total number of working hours at a number of stores, including Meadow Lane in Thurso. We are now in discussions with colleagues to discuss the impact of this and how it will be implemented.”
He added: “The reduction in hours at Thurso is equivalent to around 11 full-time members of staff. Should there be any redundancies, every effort will be made to redeploy anyone affected within the Co-op or to help them find alternative employment.”
The review has identified a total of 12 supermarkets throughout Scotland where hours will have to be reduced.
In Scotland as a whole 130 full-time equivalent jobs could be lost.
