Workers at Pumpkin Patch head office and distribution centre have received an email from the company’s payroll department, confirming that wage deductions will be made to pay for shares in the failed company.

Workers at the retailer’s head office and distribution centre expressed their outrage after receiving the correspondence.

“Workers at head office and in the distribution centre were part of an employee-shares scheme,” said Robert Reid, general secretary, First Union.

“Now payroll is saying workers will continue to pay for shares through wage deductions. People are outraged that they’ll continue to have wages deducted for the now worthless shares.”

The childrenswear retailer’s shares have been placed in a trading halt following the declaration that there was no value left in its equity after discussions with its bank were unsuccessful.

“The business remains significantly over-leveraged and capital constrained,” the company said in a statement.

Reid said the recent news is at odds with the verbal assurances they had from the company’s receivers that workers wouldn’t have to pay for the shares.

“It adds insult to injury for workers at head office and in the distribution centre. First they were told they wouldn’t qualify for redundancy because the company they were employed under held no assets,” Reid said. “Now they’re being told they’ll face wage deductions for worthless shares.”

Next week union representatives will attend a creditors’ meeting convened by the administrator (not the receiver) at midday on November 7.