Employees in MOE building walk off jobs due to mold

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Employees in MOE building walk off jobs due to mold

By JIMENITA SWAIN ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ jimenita@...:

The Nassau Guardian

Oakes Field

Nassau, Bahamas

http://www.thenassauguardian.com/more/307824973960988.php

A long-standing mold problem at the Boulevard building occupied by the

Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture forced

employees to walk off their jobs in protest yesterday.

The employees expressed their concerns to President of the Bahamas Public

Services Union Pinder.

" The union was concerned with the fact that the mold was making a number of the

members sick, " Pinder told The Nassau Guardian. " The ministry has agreed that

all persons who suffer any respiratory or any illnesses as a result of the mold

will be relocated immediately. "

The challenge now is removing the 500 employees in the building to get the work

done, he said. According to Pinder, the air conditioning system in the building

needs to be replaced.

Some employees claimed that the mold problem appears to be getting worse. Signs

of the mold are apparent in the ceiling of the building. A thick growth exists

in the ladies' restroom on the second floor.

The owner of the building, the National Insurance Board (NIB), is being called

upon to tackle the problem.

Director of NIB Algernon Cargill told The Guardian that mechanical engineer

Dean has been engaged to redesign the HV AC system in the building.

" On completion of his design, the National Insurance Board fully intends to

replace the entire HV AC system and remove all evidences of mold, " Cargill said.

" In the meantime, Mr. Dean has also recommended the acquisition of a new 150-ton

chiller to assist with the problem in the interim. "

Cargill said the chiller was purchased in June at a cost of $200,000 and is en

route to Nassau. Once the machine arrives in the country, it will be installed,

he said.

Cargill was unable to say what caused the mold problem, but said it existed

since the building was inhabited several years ago.

" We want to ensure that once the HV AC system is in place, the problem is

completely resolved. We would not want to replace the system and the problem is

not corrected, " he said. " In the meantime we are having ongoing mold

[remediation] cleaning to ensure that any danger the employees of that building

face is reduced. "

It will cost NIB about $3 million to replace the air condition system, Cargill

said.

Minister of State for Culture Maynard told The Guardian earlier in the

week that employees in his ministry were very concerned about the mold problem.

" There are a number of people who would have reported illnesses as a result of

it and so again, it's a problem that everybody sees as very grave, " Maynard

said. He admitted that it would take more than the remedial cleanings to rid the

building of the mold problem.

One employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, " The mold problem has

been in the building since we moved in. I've just noticed as of today how

terrible it is in the ladies' room. "

The employee said the issue needs to be addressed because the mold is causing

health problems for a number of employees. The worker said at least seven women

who were pregnant at some time have said that their children have asthma-related

problems believed to have been caused by the mold.

" They need to get us out of this building because it is really a hazard, " said

another employee. " For instance for me, I never had sinus before I entered this

building. I had a baby and I noticed he has eczema and he also has bad sinus. "

Ministry of Education officials relocated to the $19.2 million building in

October 2003. Construction on the building began in 2000.

Friday, September 18, 2009