Long serving staff from White’s supermarkets, which closed in 2012, remain unpaid — including seniors who worked decades for the company and say they can’t get any answers.

One caller told The Royal Gazette that his mother, who is in her early 70s and worked close to 40 years at White’s, had been forced to seek work as a cleaning lady, frustrated to the point of despondency having not seen the money she is owed.

Others have died since White’s closed shop, he said, without ever getting payments.

“Apparently the place was sold, but staff have not received any money,” said former employee Reginald Pearman who was manager at the Warwick store.

“I am personally owed money, like the rest of them, but we feel like we are just kept in the dark,” added Mr Pearman, a former president of the Bermuda Cricket Board. “I don’t know what the law states but I am pretty sure staff should be the first ones paid. To my knowledge, none of the staff have received any benefits from the sale of the company.”

With a new business now under construction at the Middle Road, Warwick site that once housed the supermarket, former staff contacted this newspaper with their complaints.

The Middle Road establishment, White and Sons Limited, closed shop in August, 2012, with all staff forfeiting their jobs.

The Southside store followed suit, as did the outlet Haywards Supermarket.

Bermuda Industrial Union, which has also been approached by ex-workers, was directed to KPMG, the firm that handled the liquidation of White’s. The company declined to comment.

However, The Royal Gazette understands that the liquidation yielded insufficient funds to pay costs in full.

They were also insufficient to pay employees or outstanding amounts owed to suppliers.

Wholesalers Pitt & Co, along with the BGA Group of Companies, were both successful in March of last year with a lawsuit against White’s owners Gary and Michael White over $1.8 million owed to them.

The chain was not itself a limited liability company, resulting in months of legal disputes that ended with a ruling by Puisne Judge Stephen Hellman in favour of the major creditors.

“There are several people with a lot of years in White’s, and I feel sorry for them,” Mr Pearman said. “They call me every now and then asking me what can be done, but I can’t shed any light.”

Another man who spoke with this newspaper asked not to be named, as his mother wanted to protect her privacy.

He said the liquidators had informed them that no one had been paid, whether staff or businesses.

“It’s sickening for them to run these people around. A senior citizen on their pension gets very little. They are owed money and nobody has been talking to them to let them know what’s what. It’s been that way ever since the place closed.”

He said his mother had been reduced to “doing anything she can to survive” and had given up hope of ever being paid.

“The other sad thing about it is a few staff members have passed away,” he added. “Nobody can get any kind of a decent answer.”