MarketPlace Provides Special Pay Increase

The MarketPlace today announced that it “will provide a special pay increase for hourly associates through to the end of April for their continued hard-work and dedication to serving customers in a time of an unprecedented health crisis.”

A spokesperson said, “The pay increase – a $2 premium above their standard base rate of pay, is for all full-time and part-time hourly associate in stores, offices, warehouse, Dollar Depot, PriceRite and Sears and will be applied for hours worked for the entire month of April. The premium will be disbursed weekly, separate from their base pay, to ensure associates have access to additional cash.

Seth Stutzman, president of The MarketPlace group of companies, said: “Our dedicated and hard-working associates’ response to these uncertain times has been nothing short of heroic, they’ve been true grocery warriors.

“As extremely busy as it has been the past few weeks, our teams have continued to deliver exceptional service and have worked tirelessly to ensure our shelves are stocked, online orders are filled, and our doors remain open. We are so proud and want to recognise and reward our associates for their incredible efforts working on the frontlines to ensure our valued customers and communities have the necessities they need.”

Additional Hiring

The company noted, “The MarketPlace has a steady workforce of nearly 400 full-time and part-time workers helping meet the everyday needs of its customers. As part of responding to the current environment and high volume, The MarketPlace has also hired 13 new associates, with plans to hire more from applicants on file as business needs increase, to work in our stores. These roles will be temporary roles with some converting to permanent roles over time. All new employees base pay starts at $22.79, well above industry standards.

“Additionally, The MarketPlace has formed employment partnerships with several local businesses from the most-affected industries – hotels and restaurants – to create a shared-resource model to temporarily contract employees to The MarketPlace roles. “This initiative is aimed at keeping Bermudians employed, while helping The MarketPlace better serve customers when they need us most. This also expedites our ability to hire and fill roles,” said Mr Stutzman.

Associate and Customer Well-being and Safety

“The health, safety and over well-being of our associates and customers is our top priority,” said Mr Stutzman. “To protect associates and customers, The MarketPlace has implemented several preventative measures, including:

• “Increased the frequency of sanitising high-traffic touchpoints [door handles, trolleys, surfaces, food service areas etc.]

• “Added floor markings spaced 6 feet apart across our checkout areas to observe social distancing

• “Limiting the number of customers in our stores at any one time

• “Provide customers with hand sanitiser upon entry into the store

• “Provided all of our associates with personal hand sanitiser, face shields, face masks and gloves at no charge to them

• “Requiring customers to wear a face mask or a cloth covering while shopping in our stores.”

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