OSH justifies teachers walk out...

A safety and health inspector with the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OSHA) has upheld the action by teachers of the La Romaine Secondary School (LRSS) who walked off the job in May and refused to work for health and safety reasons until the term ended in July.

In a letter to Lenore Baptiste Simmons, permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, OSH inspector Trevvor Mohan, said their refusal to work was justified.

“I am of the opinion that the workplace conditions at LRSS located at Church Street, La Romaine, constitute serious and imminent danger and therefore justify a refusal to work in accordance with Section 13 of the OSH Act,” Mohan submitted in his report to the PS dated June 26.

Newsday received a copy of the report in which Mohan stated the reasons for his opinion, based on his findings following an investigation of the employees’ notification of refusal to work on May 29, 2018.

On the advice of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), teachers cited a list of electrical defects the electoral inspectorate would have submitted, after two fires which occurred in the Multi-Purpose Hall and Integrated Science Lab, for their action.

The teachers walk out caused the deferral of the end of term examination and both the graduation exercise and graduation ball to be held at an alternative venue.

Mohan was assigned to investigate the veracity of TTUTA’s claims, which he did during the month of June. In his observations, he indicated some corrective measures were taken in the two areas where the fires occurred, and the danger removed from those areas.

However, in his report, he said no fire certificate was acquired certifying that the facility met the minimum standard of the TT Fire Service (TTFS). He also reported that the automated means of detecting fire and raising an alarm in the event there was a fire, was not functional at the time of the inspection.

He also observed that failure to conduct evacuation drills saying this could result in students and staff being unfamiliar with the required action if there is a fire.

“There was an insufficient amount of emergency lights at the doors, exits and exit routes as determined by the TTFS. The existing emergency lights and several luminous/illuminated exit signs were non-functional and not well maintained.

There were also locked emergency exit doors and obstructed exits which were not capable of being readily and quickly opened from the inside. Failure to provide reliable access routes and to provide emergency lighting may result in disorientation of students and staff due to the inability to visually identify exit routes and the final exit door during a fire/emergency evacuation,” he wrote in his report.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said LRSS is one of the schools earmarked for repairs during the vacation period and should be ready in time for the re-opening of the new school term.

However, up until yesterday members of the schools Parent Teachers Association said no work had yet started on the compound.