In a home, mold can be a health problem. In a post office, however, it can be an occupational health hazard. That’s why mold testing in government spaces can be especially critical when it comes to the public’s health.

Such was the case when employees of the General Post Office in St. Lucia revealed workers may have been working under moldy conditions for some time now. Employees state that many workers have been put on sick leave as result of exposure.

“I believe the time is right for the minister or whoever is responsible to know what is going on here – it’s not easy. You ask for dust masks – they don’t have. You have to purchase your own dust masks to wear, come to work and give the public the best that they can. It’s a shame,”  Gabriel Albert Joseph, an employee who is represented by the Saint Lucia Civil Service Association (CSA), told the St.Lucia Times. ““They  said until the report we must hold on, but they don’t understand what is going on.”

Long Time Problem?

The union is still awaiting official results of mold testing. But Joseph contends the mold situation has been an ongoing problem for years.

“Until the workers here take a stand and say enough is enough, this will go on,” Joseph said.