We gotta get out of this place

The offices on Wulff Road.

As of Tuesday, January 22, 2019

BY RIEL MAJOR

DISGRUNTLED employees of the Department of Social Services’ outreach centre on Wulff Road refused to work yesterday due to the infestation of mould, rats and roaches in the building.

Laurence Strachan, a case aid worker, said something has to be done because every other week someone is out with the cold or the flu. “For months we have been waiting, waiting and waiting for them to deal with the mould, rats and the roaches in this building,” she said. “Yesterday the roaches were falling out the phones that we talk on... We contacted head office and we were told to spray Baygon. We sprayed the Baygon; the clients started coughing, we started coughing because the windows can’t open.

“We tried to call the Public Service Union – the phone was out of service. We called the minister’s office and his secretary was out and relayed our message to someone else that we are refusing to work because of these conditions, and we heard nothing from nobody.

“We are just refusing to work because somebody has to say something other than ‘spray Baygon’. Baygon can’t kill rats and can’t kill mould.”

She claimed no official visited the centre recently to see the conditions.

“We want something to happen because when we had a meeting with our heads, they told us to find a building - we must find a building? Not only us being affected, our children are being affected, our clients being affected. They shouldn’t have to come in and be subjected to come in here with their skin itching because of mould, roaches and rats crawling over your feet.”

Kitheria Kemp, a welfare officer, said employees are trying their best to ensure their clients receive timely and proper services.

Ms Kemp said: “I busting my butt trying to help the clients and I getting sick. I have to go home to my children and they are getting sick. It cannot work, something has to change.

“If you could pick up your phone and roach crawl out of it… it’s a real problem and then you gone tell workers to locate a (different) building. Seriously?

“We are directed to go head office now and to package the files and to bring them to head office, but we can’t do that. We can’t be carrying around client files to go up there. This has always been their solution anytime we complain or anytime we say anything, ‘come up by our head office’. They don’t even have space for us by head office then the next day nothing ever gets resolved and we end up right back here.”

In an interview with The Tribune, Lillian Quant-Forbes, acting director of social services, said officials have written to the building’s landlord indicating the issues within the facility and the staff will be temporary relocated to the Department of Social Services’ head office.

Ms Quant-Forbes said: “We are concerned about the well-being of our staff.

“From time to time we have done some things to make the situation better for them, however, understanding what has been said today the recommendation and the instructions I was given for them was to relocate from that unit.

“They will be stationed at the headquarters location until the issues have been resolved. We understand and we care about the well-being of staff so we will accommodate them here at headquarters until further notice.”

joeblow 5 years, 3 months ago

While I do feel for the staff at Social Services, I really wish The Tribune would actually report the news sensibly. This is 5th grade reporting!

ConchFretter 5 years, 3 months ago

Any space still left at the Town Center Mall?

yeahyasee 5 years, 3 months ago

LMAOO

Sickened 5 years, 3 months ago

Nasty, nasty, nasty! But then again that picture could have been taken at almost any government building - including PMH! Seems like the civil servants in the Ministry of Works are being paid to hang out at the fish fry!

yeahyasee 5 years, 3 months ago

“Yesterday the roaches were falling out the phones that we talk on... We contacted head office and we were told to spray Baygon. We sprayed the Baygon; the clients started coughing, we started coughing because the windows can’t open.

LOOL yeah ya see spray Baygon and that coming from Head Office.

DDK 5 years, 3 months ago

Don't any of these folk know anything about cleaning? Not in MY job description (suck teeth)! Mould, roaches and rodents do not happen over night! It might be a good idea if civil servants were prohibited from coming to work with their breakfast, lunch, early supper and snacks in between! (Yes, I know, that might start a minor revolution!)

geostorm 5 years, 3 months ago

Yup, that's pretty much the attitude @DDK! You need to see some of those desks! It's a disgrace. I will add though, in addition to the employees playing a role in keeping the surroundings clean, the government must ensure that the buildings get, at minimum, quarterly checks. The AC system is a major generator of mold and should be checked quarterly especially in our warm climate.

DDK 5 years, 3 months ago

Is there NO Government that can be elected that understands the meaning of the words "cleaning" and "maintenance"? This nonsense of spending the tax payers' money to build offices to house the Government's workers (also paid by the tax payers) and letting said offices and buildings fall into disrepair so that workers can stay home while being paid while Government attempts to find another building to waste money on? What the h-e-l-l is wrong with them all?

hrysippus 5 years, 3 months ago

These state employed workers are a disgruntled lot, . . . . They say working conditions are all kerpunckled up. . . . . Of course roaches only go where food is left around, . . . .. And rats cannot resist leftovers discarded on the ground, . . . . And why if them at the post office only had to work two days, . . . . . And those workers at the PMH, they all were given raise, . . . .. . Do they seriously expect we to clean up our own mess, . . .. We gonna work a little slower, we gonna do a little less, . . . .. If you working for the government dem, you ain't supposed to work too hard, . .. Just put in the minimum hours until you get that pension card, . . . .. Then you live that life dead easy while others do the work, . . . .. Don't bother we wit tings to do we only good to shirk.
When we cannot serve our customers it really not our fault, . . .. We just a smallish part of the Bahamian gestalt. . . . . .

bogart 5 years, 3 months ago

So.... DA PROBLEMS NEEDIN BE FIX IS DA RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LANDLORD....HOPE......dey aint spending dere Ministry allocated budget money to fix the landlord problem respondibility....so how much baygon dey buy....who da landlord is anyhow ....an how dey couldnt find money to fix dis problem.....

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