After two employees at the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Research Division’s Central Experiment Station in Centeno tested positive for COVID-19 last week, some of the workers are now expressing concerns about their health and safety.
The workers are claiming that they are left at high risk, as the buildings on the compound have not been sanitised properly.
Speaking with the Guardian Media under strict anonymity, for fear of being victimised or fired, an employee said in the past week there have been two confirmed cases.
“One of the workers is critical and warded in the Intensive Care Unit at the Couva Hospital and since those two cases, they only sanitised one building and they failed to sanitise the rest properly. Up to Tuesday, a worker reported for work and because his wife is positive also, they sent him back home but no sanitisation was done,” the employee claimed.
“Right now, all the workers are not feeling safe and we need a direct intervention from the Minister to see about our welfare. Our health is at risk,” the employee added.
National Union of Government and Federated Workers’ (NUGFW) shop steward Dale Balliram, who represents the 171 workers, confirmed the two positive cases.
But according to him, management “would have done the right thing” in addressing the situation.
“On Sunday, I was contacted by management and asked for a little cooperation in getting contact with workers who supposed to work on a rotation, that would have been on Monday, to tell them do not come to work because they are sanitising the compound. I was told that one of the workers tested positive besides the guy who is in ICU and as a precaution, the director, which is by law, the director did not send them to medical quarantine, what she did was precaution quarantine. She treated them as secondary cases or secondary people that were exposed to someone - at least eight workers, including drivers, two monthly paid workers and some labourers that would have been in direct contact with people.”
He added, “On Monday, no one reported to work and Monday, Santec came and sanitised the environment... the guy would have been in so they sanitised two sections, the hallway and all government vehicles. When that was done, the workers were required to go back to work from Tuesday.”
Balliram admitted that some workers called him with their concerns and he explained the process to them.
He added that he advised the concerned workers that they could go to any health centre for a free PCR test.
However, Balliram said the union is worried about what he called the unnecessary gathering on the compound.
“Not all stations in the 27 divisions of Ministry of Agriculture are on a 50 per cent rotation,” Balliram said, as he called for this to be addressed.
Contacted yesterday, Minister Clarence Rambharat confirmed there were COVID-positive employees at the station in Centeno.
“There were two positive cases last week. The COVID protocols were followed. The Permanent Secretary is aware and has the details,” he said.