FOR Footscray single mother Joanna Pitsilos (pictured), her Coles colleagues have been her family after the loss of her sister to illness last year.
After a grief-filled year, her woes continue with her workplace Coles Footscray closing this week for a year-long plaza redevelopment, forcing her to leave behind bonds forged with people she considers her family.
“You basically form a family; the connection [with workmates] becomes stronger because you see them more frequently,” she said.
A Coles worker for almost 15 years, including seven at the Footscray store, Ms Pitsilos is disappointed at being moved to Coles’ Yarraville store.
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She has financial concerns about the job transition. “It’s a lot of stress. Being a single parent [with two children], you need to think about your income day by day,” she said.
“How are you going to work out your bills? What sacrifices will I have to make to feed my family? It’s all very frustrating.”
Coles spokeswoman Evie Ridgway said the company was doing all it could to help workers with the transition. “We are redeploying all Coles team members to other nearby Coles stores and team members have been given preference to which store is suitable for them to work.”
