The 18-month old Congress administration of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has said that the first quarter of 2024 is set to mark the commencement of infrastructural renovations on The Financial Complex along the Carenage following years of neglect.
Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall made the announcement during his contribution to the 2024 budget debate in the Lower House of Parliament on Monday, days after citing a need for improved productivity in the public service at a press conference in St. George’s.
The senior government minister said the decision to tackle the badly needed work at the Financial Complex is intended to address years of poor working conditions for public officers, the issue of occupational safety and health concerns including mold, poor ventilation, and malfunctioning air condition systems.
He said it is expected that the infrastructural work will be completed within the next 18 to 24 months, and expressed “gratitude to the hard working staff” now under his leadership for their “patience” as the government worked to resolve the various issues.
“Rest assured we are working to resolve all of those issues, and to ensure that you have a comfortable environment to operate,” he added.
According to Minister Cornwall, the government has started the process with the temporary relocation of the affected public workers to facilitate remedial work on the building, which is being renovated with funding from the World Bank under the “Caribbean Efficient and Green Energy Building project” to the tune of “EC$2 million.”
The Accountant General Division has already been moved to a rented space on Lucas Street in St. George’s, with plans to relocate the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to a building opposite Courts on Young Street, St. George’s in the coming weeks, and the other divisions during the first quarter of 2024.
President of the Public Workers Union (PWU) Brian Grimes has welcomed the start of the much-needed renovation work on government ministries, and anticipates positive outcomes for service delivery and overall productivity.
In an interview with THE NEW TODAY on Thursday, Grimes commended the efforts of the 18-month old administration and emphasised the potential positive impact on the health of workers and subsequent improvements in productivity.
“We are keenly aware that this is not a cheap venture but ultimately it is one that would be worth the effort based on the fact that the health of the workers would be positively affected, he said, adding that “the Union is happy with this arrangement and with the moves by the government to continually improve the working conditions of the public officers within the public service.”
With the workers moving to more conducive and a better location for work, Grimes said: “They can (now) work for a full eight (8) hours…and the general public will certainly benefit from that.”
The PWU Boss emphasised the importance of establishing guidelines for employers to ensure safe and healthy working environments, expressing hope that the Dickon Mitchell regime will take the “bold step to enact the Occupational Safety and Health legislation to guide how all employers have their environments and treat with their employees.”
Officials of the Congress government have also given assurances that they are planning to address the long-outstanding problem of a faulty Air Conditioning system at the Ministerial Complex in the Botanical Gardens forcing workers to leave every day at around 1.00 p.m. daily instead of 4.00 p.m.