Monday’s planned reopening of the High Court was delayed with workers still off the job up to last night due to what was described as a foul smell inside the building.
The court has been closed for around two weeks amid concerns over mould and its potential impact on human health, putting a number of cases on hold including the Bruce Greenaway murder trial.
Court matters were expected to resume yesterday morning. But instead around 40 staff were sent home on union advice.
Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin met with the workers on Monday morning, Public Service Association President Joan Peters told Observer.
“The meeting went well but workers are still off the job because everything has not been done to their satisfaction yet and there’s still a smell in the building,” she said, adding that a decision had been made that employees could not return to work on Monday.
Both court staff and jurors have complained about the presence of mould in the building, saying it was making them ill.
The entire Parliament Drive court building was closed in the last week of May while it was cleaned and sanitised.
A statement from the High Court last week said that all criminal cases would be postponed until June 5, while most matters in the Civil and Family Division would continue to be heard remotely.
The Attorney General is due to meet with staff again this morning, Peters added.
Meanwhile Benjamin told Observer last night, “The High Court continues to sit virtually in its civil jurisdiction. It is the criminal jurisdiction that is affected. Arrangements are being made to have the court fully operational shortly.”