By Charminae George
Approximately a dozen staff sat outside the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Barbuda Affairs building on Independence Avenue earlier yesterday in protest over their deplorable work conditions.
The group which consisted of staff of two of the building’s three floors, told Observer that the slew of issues with the almost 50-year-old building were many, and have gone unaddressed for too long, despite numerous complaints.
A pervasive musty odour, haphazard storage areas and holes in the ceilings were among the issues, however, the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ sparking the protest, was a situation with the bathroom on the second floor.
“We were out of water for a few days…When the pump got fixed and they started to do their rounds, they realized that some of the bathrooms were messed really badly. There was feces in some of the bathrooms, urine…,” one of the workers told Observer.
As a result of that ordeal, the worker said that staff were told that they were only allowed to use their floor’s bathroom. However, the condition of the bathroom left a lot to be desired.
“One of the septics can’t flush. The other one, the seat cover is not attached. There is an issue with lighting. The doors are being eaten away by termites,” she stated.
A request was made by staff for permission to use another bathroom in the building, but that request was denied.
“…We were told that we can’t use another bathroom because it was sent down to say that we’re supposed to use the bathroom on our floor,” the worker said.
Another serious issue faced by staff in the registry department is the presence of electrical cords strewn over the floor and hung in a doorway.
“We have drop cords, wires running all over the place. We have open wires. We have some light switches that are not covered properly, they’re cracked open,” she told Observer.
The registry worker added that the issue remained the same, notwithstanding a walkthrough done by the fire department a few months ago.
“They did a check through of the building…[and] they did say the cords on the floors were hazardous and we should not be working under those conditions,” she added.
The ministry’s permanent secretary was contacted for comment, but she declined to do so.
