San Fernando mayor: Working conditions at City Hall are safe

San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello is rejecting claims by Public Services Association (PSA) industrial relations officer Ricardo Goolcharan that working conditions at the San Fernando City Hall are unsafe .

Goolcharan visited the building on Monday to discuss a worker's claims to have repeatedly experienced allergic reactions because of mould and other material in the building.

But the city corporation's acting CEO Jameel Ali refused his request for a meeting, without giving a reason.

On Tuesday, Regrello told Newsday the corporation was aware of Goolcharan’s concerns, but said they had already been dealt with as part of repairs now being done on the building.

Regrello saidd, “This particular worker has been complaining for a quite a while about working conditions, and the corporation has spent a considerable amount of money to rectify the issues in the building where she works.

“The worker was transferred to another space (while remedial work was done) for a number of months.

“That building is now totally functional and there’ve been tests for quality and air control which got approval, so everything should be all right.”

Regrello said only the upper floor of the building is currently being renovated, to deal with a termite issue, and the ongoing work posed no risk or harm to people working in other parts of the building.

“There is no fungus there (in the upper floor); it’s remedial concrete work being done.

“I can’t see how it is affecting the worker, because their department is further way downstairs, away from the building.

“All of us – the whole admin – work downstairs, the CEO’s office is downstairs, my office is downstairs, and none of us have any complaints about any irritation of skin.”

By Monday afternoon, Goolcharan said Ali had written to the worker giving her the choice of three other locations to work from. Regrello was unable to confirm the validity of this statement.

When Ali’s office was contacted for comment, Newsday was told he was unable to take the call. Newsday was also unable to get an update from Goolcharan on Tuesday, as calls and messages to his phone went unanswered.

Newsday understands the building was closed for sanitation on Tuesday, but was unable to confirm the reason for this.