More post office employees fall ill; Labour Department workers battle overcrowding

More employees at the General Post Office in St Kitts are falling ill and are on sick leave due to continuing mould issues while their counterparts at the Labour Department are battling overcrowding and other issues at their new location.

The Parcel Post Section of the General Post Office on the Bay Road should have been relocated since early May, but according to several sources, ministry officials have failed to follow through on that promise.

Reports surfaced at the time that a number of employees, including a very senior official were on medical leave from the Basseterre Post Office because of a lingering unhealthy conditions.

At that time some four persons were said to be affected but that number has risen to almost 10 by the end of May, a source said.

The Labour Department which moved from two previous locations due to unhealthy workplace condition, now faces an overcrowded area and mold issues in violation of local and International Labour Organization (ILO) regulations.

Regulations call for the employer to take appropriate measures to ensure that general conditions prevailing in places of employment are such as to provide adequate protection of the health that of the workers concerned and in particular that dirt and refuse do not accumulate so as to cause risk of injury to health; the floor space and height of workrooms are sufficient to prevent overcrowding of workers, or congestion owing to machinery, materials or products; adequate and suitable lighting, natural or artificial, or both, is provided; suitable atmospheric conditions are maintained so as to avoid insufficient air supply and movement, vitiated air, harmful draughts, sudden variations in temperature, and, so far as is practicable, excessive humidity, excessive heat or cold, and objectionable odours; sufficient and suitable sanitary conveniences and washing facilities, and adequate supplies of wholesome drinking water, are provided in suitable places and properly maintained.

There are reports of mold as well as the availability of one bathroom to accommodate some 40 employees with workers lining up to use the facility on a daily basis.

The unhealthy conditions at the Labour Department and the General Post Office come on the heels of similar situations at several government run institutions.

Teachers at the Cayon High School signed a petition to force the government to take swift action in relation to the unhealthy situation at the educational institution.

The existence of mold and other health concerns at the Cayon High School had been known by government officials since March of this year when positive results of tests became known after several teachers began experiencing illnesses but no action was taken by the appropriate authorities.

The National Housing Corporation (NHC) was fumigated, the Verchild's High School was infected, the Department of Sport was forced to vacate to the media centre and VIP boxes at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium. The Ministry of Education also moved its administrative offices to The Cable Building on Cayon Street. The Administration Building at the main Burdon Campus of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) was closed, reopened and closed again and mold was also found in the President’s Office forcing the occupant of the office to relocate to a container in the yard of the main campus.

The technical and vocational division has also experienced mold problems.

A section of Police Headquarters was closed due to the presence of mold as did a section of the Basseterre Police Station due to an infestation of bed bugs.

The Sandy Point Primary School was recently fumigated as a result of an infestation of cockroaches and rats and the two science labs and the home economic center at the Saddlers Secondary School were cordoned off due to health concerns.