It was a soaking mess at the Main Post Office building on East Hill Street Tuesday as a broken pipe in the building’s air condition unit connected to the main water supply sprung a leak flooding the basement forcing workers to be sent home for the day.
Water rained down from the overhead pipe and quickly covered the floor of the basement.
Workers collected the water in large mail carriers and then dumped the collection outside.
Bahamas Public Service Union (BPSU) President John Pinder said the problem highlights the fact that the building is old and needs to demolish.
He added that the government is aware of the problems plaguing the building and steps are being taken to find a new space to house the offices currently in Post Office Building.
“The workers have come up with what I believe is a great idea,” Mr. Pinder said. “They have suggested that the government build a new post office in the space directly behind the building and then turn this building into a three-storey car garage to alleviate parking problems that currently exist in the downtown area.
“I have also suggested to the government that they consider turning the old City Market building on Market Street in to the new post office building. In any event, this is a very old building and there are too many problems with it.”
Nearly 40 employees had to be sent home Tuesday and Mr. Pinder said that all those employees are expected to return to their jobs today.
“The workers have managed to get the placed cleaned up and most of the water has been removed,” Mr. Pinder said.
“There are still health and security concerns with this building but for the most part it will be in a suitable order for those workers to come back on Wednesday.”
In recent months workers in the building have complained of mold infestation, ventilation issues and concrete falling.
Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson recently acknowledged the challenges with the building and assured that provisions are being made to bring relief to the workers in that building.
