By DENISE MAYCOCK
Tribune Freeport Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
ZNS employees in Freeport staged a sick-out yesterday to protest “unsafe” working conditions at the office in the Harold DeGregory Complex, which was flooded during Hurricane Dorian.
Thirty-five of the public broadcasting company’s 50 employees called in sick, leaving only the management staff to run the television and radio operations on Grand Bahama.
According to reports, employees in the television and news department had expressed concerns about mould and the lack of functioning elevators in the building, which was under two to three feet of water during the hurricane.
The staff complained of various health issues, including headaches, eyes, nose and throat irritations, and had requested that management address their issues.
Employees had asked management to reduce their work hours in the building until the issue of mould could be addressed.
The elevators in the building are also out of service since the storm and employees now have to walk several flights of stairs everyday to the ZNS offices located on the second floor of the building.
Employees had voiced concerns to management, but nothing had been done to address issues, according to a reliable source.
A union official confirmed that staff had called in sick yesterday.
During the storm, the Harold DeGregory Complex became flooded, forcing the evacuation of members of the Emergency Operation Centre, which was located on the ground floor.
The building is occupied by several government offices, including the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation, ZNS, and the Office of the Prime Minister, which is located on the fourth floor.
Comments
proudloudandfnm 4 years, 5 months ago
"several flights of stairs"? The second floor?
Huh?
ThisIsOurs 4 years, 5 months ago
lol
mandela 4 years, 5 months ago
The Minister of Health spoke on obesity being on the rise so walking a few flights of stairs should be mandatory, but the other problems should have been and needs to be addressed.
Dawes 4 years, 5 months ago
With technology the way it is you don't need such a large department to do the work they do. Downsize it to a 5-10 man team and have the newscasters in nassau do the reporting etc. As this idea will save money it will be ignored and they will build a new $40 million building with 10 elevators so the staff will never have to walk up the stairs.
proudloudandfnm 4 years, 5 months ago
Minister needs to write them back and let them know they need a map. They're obviously going to the wrong building every day if they're walking up several flights of stairs to get to the second floor....
Typical government employees, bitchin and moanin about walking up ONE FLIGHT of stairs....
hrysippus 4 years, 5 months ago
A not unusual case of entitlement mentality amongst state employed workers. Please close down ZNS it is unnecessary and a total waste of our tax money.
tell_it_like_it_is 4 years, 5 months ago
Lol. I understand all the sarcasm by posters here, as sometimes hyperbolic terms are used to describe reality.
However, on the other hand the Government should develop some protocols for dealing with buildings affected by flooding. Especially on how to effectively target and eliminate mould. Mould actually does lead to serious health problems later on. It seems too many Government buildings have mould these days. Many of which have nothing to do with Dorian.
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