The GGCA says it has entered into a dispute with the Government over unsafe premises at the Department of Social Security.

A statement from the union set out the reasons:

“As recently reported by GBC in January this year, the GGCA was involved in the emergency evacuation of the Department of Social Security (‘DSS’) from their premises in 14 Governor’s Parade. As reported, the building was severely deteriorated due to water penetration. This resulted in the collapse of the ceiling in the vault area in 2019, the floor of which has been supported by scaffolding since that date. Luckily, no one was in the vault room when the ceiling collapsed, so nobody was injured.

“As the building was declared safe following a health and safety inspection requested by the GGCA, no repairs were carried out and as a result, the building deteriorated further. The cracks in the walls (spanning from the interior to the exterior of the building) widened in a visible manner. In addition, mold was growing on the walls and there was a subsequent cockroach infestation.

“The water ingress increased to the extent that on a rainy day, the staff would have to use their umbrellas when going to the bathroom, which would end up waterlogged. Inevitably, this affected the building’s electrical system, as water would seep into the light fittings. Last November, a set of lights exploded in the kitchen, resulting in a meter long light fitting on the ceiling crashing to the floor. Thankfully, no one was in the kitchen at the time so no one was injured.

“The fuses in the building would blow on a regular basis, resulting in light shortages and fear amongst the staff that an electrical fire or that injury from electrocution could occur.

“The GGCA was eventually called in the first week of January when a domestic worker tried to plug in a vacuum cleaner and the electrical socket exploded, leaving a scorch mark underneath the electrical socket. Thankfully, the domestic worker did not suffer an injury at that time.

“On visiting the premises, the GGCA President was shocked to discover that next to an officer’s desk, the wall surrounding an electrical socket (which was in use) was wet to the touch. Indeed, following an inspection of the premises, Gibelec confirmed that, due to water penetration, they could not guarantee the electrical safety of the building.

“The GGCA then made representations to the official side, resulting in a meeting with the Chief Minister on the 11th January 2022, where it was agreed that the staff would be urgently evacuated from the building. As this was an emergency measure, it was agreed that officers would work from home until alternate premises were located as a matter of priority.

“Although the membership recognized the need for the evacuation for their safety, they did not welcome the working from home arrangements, as it is very difficult for them to ensure continuity of service. This is because the DSS still largely operates on a paper basis, so it is very difficult to share information effectively.

“The staff are very grateful to the Post Office for their support, providing them with a room in their building where some officers operated on a ‘hot desk’ basis and where they operated two cashier stations at the counter. The Post Office (and the Treasury Department) generously shared their resources, but they were clearly not equipped to house another entire department. Counting machines were kept on the floor and staff have had to balance their tills in the Post Office kitchen, and complete a cash accounting exercise was undertaken on the floor of a counting room in the Treasury Department. At present, the DSS personnel is currently working from home, with work stations at the Post Office and at former Edec premises. The departmental complement consists of 36 officers, who are operating all DSS services with 13 computer terminals, 2 printers and six mobile phones.”