Week Two: ABS Staff Still Kept Out of Friars Hill Road Building Over Health Concerns

For a second consecutive week, most employees at the Antigua and Barbuda Broadcasting Services (ABS) have been instructed not to enter the state-owned media house on Friars Hill Road as health and safety concerns at the facility remain unresolved.

Staff continue to report to work to clock in before returning home, acting on instructions from their union representative, Bernard de Nully of the Antigua and Barbuda Trades and Labour Union (AT&LU). Others just don’t show up at all.

The unusual arrangement has left ABS operating with only a skeleton crew, while management attempts to keep essential functions running by shifting personnel where possible.

However, operations have reportedly been hampered by intermittent Wi-Fi disruptions and transportation challenges for staff working on the field.

The situation began last week after a Shop Steward alerted the union to deteriorating conditions inside the ABS building, including visible mould and a strong foul odour that workers feared could pose health risks.

Sources say the problem worsened after the facility reportedly experienced flooding over the weekend, intensifying concerns about contamination and air quality within the building.

Union representatives subsequently conducted a walkthrough of the premises and, after assessing the conditions, instructed workers not to remain inside the facility until further notice.

The union has called for an air quality assessment to determine whether the environment is safe for employees to return to work.

The directive requiring staff to clock in and immediately leave has significantly disrupted normal operations at the broadcaster, highlighting the seriousness of the concerns raised by workers.

Discussions between union officials and ABS management are expected as efforts continue to address the situation, while the issue is also expected to be raised at the Cabinet level.

In the meantime, most ABS employees remain off the job, awaiting the results of the air quality testing and assurances that the workplace will be safe before normal operations resume.