Bartica police, GPL staffers working in deplorable conditions – Minister Broomes, Labour Officers find

Jun 09, 2015 News

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The atrocious conditions under which local policemen and power station staffers are currently working were strongly condemned by Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes, who made an impromptu visit to institutions in Bartica over the weekend.
Accompanied by a team of Labour Occupational Health and Safety (LOHS) Officers, the Junior Minister visited and conducted thorough inspections of the work space at the Bartica Police Station as well as the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) power station in the Region Seven community.
“Atrocious,” “unacceptable” and “unbelievable” were words commonly used by Labour Officers as they scoured the two First Avenue, Bartica buildings, inspecting the conditions under which about 14 policemen and 12 power company operators were required to dwell as they execute their duties.
On Saturday, the team first made its way to the power station. It is there that the members found that the lunchroom is in an environment that is primarily surrounded by oil and batteries; sparsely furnished and extremely greasy.
It was positioned a few feet from a washroom facility that reeked. A toilet which had no cover for the cistern or seating on the toilet bowl, were some of the things that the Minister and the team saw.
Grease-stained floors were a common feature in the cramped facility. The floor was a mixture of water and waste oil.  Several areas in the building had exposed wires.
The workers reported that they work for eight to twelve hours daily. They said that they complained of working under very hazardous conditions with no proper safety gear. The workshop area was in an extremely unkempt state, with the floor soaked in waste oil and water.
Some of the windows of the workshop as well as the guard hut were missing.
The entrance to the building had a sign which stated “Safety starts here.” This, the Labour Officers found, was a mockery to practices that obtained. A thorough check on that building had Labour Officers pronounce on the “extremely poor housekeeping,” among other things.
Workers complained too of the weak pier where they had to walk when the fuel is being taken into the power station. One GPL operator said, “We are concerned about our health. What can you do though? You just come out and you take fresh air and then go back in.”
He said that he stayed on the job since over the years they kept receiving promises that the conditions will change.
Minister Broomes noted that the building itself is in a deplorable state and that “this is a mockery…This is total neglect, and I condemn this. The previous administration had no interest in what is taking place; they did not care. The change that we are talking about is here.”
According to Minister Broomes, the visit exposed many serious lapses and lack of oversight by the previous administration. Region Seven Chairman Gordon Bradford who participated in the impromptu check-up said that the Regional Administration is looking urgently to locate a suitable plot of land to re-locate the power station.
At the police station, the situation was no different. Ranks complained bitterly of having to sleep on very uncomfortable bunks, of no proper washroom facilities, and having to prepare meals in a kitchen area that leaves much to be desired.
About 14 ranks reside in the upper flat of the police station. The kitchen lacks basic amenities like a refrigerator. The ranks told Labour Officers that they provided the two two-burner gas stoves and kerosene stove as well as the cylinders.
They said that even the water they drink was provided by them, because the water from the storage tank is not fit for drinking. The tank is located near to a leaking septic tank.
The kitchen also had exposed wires. One rank even pointed out the results of bullets that were fired at the Station during the Bartica Massacre in 2008. Those holes still remained on the roof of the kitchen.
Where a louver light once was, is now the spot where a fluorescent bulb is.
One officer said that he and his colleagues have to purchase their own groceries. The officers reported that had to pool to buy paint to give the barrack room a facelift. Some of the bed frames were broken and some officers are sleeping on worn-out mattresses.
The fans were bought by the officers and they also report that they had to each purchase a cupboard for $6000 to store their clothes.
The Labour Officers bore witness to a bathroom that was stuffed with mattresses as ranks told them that they could no longer use the bathroom because it was leaking to the second floor. Daily, the ranks are forced to take baths in the yard.
The banister leading to the upper flat was also flagged by Labour Officers since it was unstable and shaking. The Inquiries Area on the lower flat also raised concerns for Labour Officers. The pieces of furniture were mostly broken or damaged.
The desks had missing drawers and ranks were also forced to use makeshift chairs. The lockups where prisoners are kept were also in a deplorable condition. The female lockups area, aside from the atrocious smell, was littered with food boxes and bottles.
The team was also apprised of concerns that relate to the Radio Room. The Bartica Police Station is the Police Headquarters for the interior but the ranks said that for years, none of the equipment in the Radio Room was working, despite complaints.
They told Labour Officers that they have been sending text messages to colleagues in remote locations as a mean of communication. The room also had a bundle of exposed wires. The washroom available to the public reeks of urine.
“I would never believe that the Bartica Police Station doesn’t have a washroom area, and to even see the condition of the kitchen. You don’t even have a wash room area to say that this is the laundry area or so, not even a stove in the kitchen. This government is not the past, so we are going to do things differently,” Minister Broomes told the officers.
She said that in order for the Administration to meet that mandate of ensuring that all Guyanese have a good life, “We the Ministers have to go around ourselves and get the surveying done.”
It is indeed a sad situation, she said, to see where the very people who have to protect citizens are dwelling. “I am embarrassed. Had I been a policeman or woman to live in this condition, I don’t think I would have endured it. For the first time I have to take my hats off to police,” Minister Broomes stressed.
She added, “It is time that the police got some privacy and do away with the word ‘barrack room’ and move to living quarters to make police officers more comfortable.”
Broomes said she is now in a better position to take up the matter having witnessed the situation firsthand. She added that she has made a commitment to represent the people, noting that “this is a government that is committed to all Guyanese.”
She also encouraged the police to serve with pride and dignity as the new Administration seeks to better their lives.

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