Massy Stores MD – Stop Discrimination and Stigmatization of Staff

MANAGING Director of Massy Stores Saint Lucia, Martin Dorville is calling on Saint Lucians to stop stigmatizing and discriminating against staff at the business place simply because some of them, at one store, were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Saying that Massy Store is deeply saddened by this development, Dorville made an impassioned plea to Saint Lucians not to discriminate against anyone who has COVID-19.

“The discrimination we are experiencing at other well-known stores, the bus, as we walk the streets, is to say the least disheartening and we ask with much humility that this must be stopped. It creates fear, anger and anxiety and it is dangerous. Instead let us show empathy to those affected, seek to better understand the disease and adopt effective practical measures to minimize the risk of infection to remain safe,” he said.

Dorville not only urged Saint Lucians to embark on a high degree of compliance to protocols for infection prevention, but also remember that such compliance will aid in minimizing risk of exposure and transmission as anyone could be infected with the virus.

He explained that as hurtful as the treatment meted out to Massy’s staff is, it will not sway them to behave in like manner.

“We know this behavior is not at the heart of our saint Lucian people so we will continue to serve you with pride, with love and with care,” Dorville said.

“You can choose not to serve us but we will serve you,” he added.

The Company which has several stores in Saint Lucia, mainly supermarkets, is a stable in the Saint Lucian economy, employing hundreds of Saint Lucians.

Said Dorville,”We do not wish for anyone to be treated in that manner, more so the persons who put their lives and their families at risk to graciously do their jobs and serve you over the last grueling nine months of this pandemic.

“We pride ourselves on the critical role we play in feeding the nation and has spared no effort in ensuring the safety of our operations with very strict precautions in place to be able to responsibly fulfill our role as an essential service provider especially at this time,” Dorville said.

He said that the health and safety of all Massy Stores operations, customers, supporters, operators, etc., are management’s number one priority.