Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs Adriel Brathwaite has promised employees at the Land Tax and Land Valuation departments that working conditions at their Fairchild Street, Bridgetown location are being looked into.
The workers, about 20, were protesting again with placards yesterday about “unsafe” and “unhealthy” conditions in the building. These are said to include foul odours, leaking roofs and mosquitoes breeding on the compound.
“A couple months ago, we were told that we were moving to the new building in Warrens. Everybody was working . . . because we were [told] we were going to Warrens. [Now] we were told that Warrens might not be in the picture. This is unreasonable. The Land Tax Department [has] always given excellent service for the Government. We have worked through all circumstances – no heat, no elevators, place smell musty . . . ,” said one irate worker who chose not to be identified.
Brathwaite told the House of Assembly on Tuesday night that the furniture for the new premises in the Warrens Office Complex was due to arrive in Barbados at the end of the month. (LW)