BVI News

Malfunctioning A/C system causes offices in Admin Complex to shorten work hours

The central administration complex in Road Town that houses several government offices. (GIS photo)

Operations at the Central Administration Complex in Road Town are being affected by a malfunctioning cooling system.

A government-commissioned media release has said this malfunction in the air conditioning has resulted in the Ministry of Transporation, Works & Utilities shortening work hours since Wednesday.

That ministry’s offices, which are based at the complex, now operate from 8:30 pm to 1 pm.

“A decision was made to give staff the opportunity to leave early given that the central A/C is under repair. So it’s very hot in the building at this moment,” the ministry’s Deputy Secretary, Jeremy Hodge told BVI News in a Subsequent interview.

“The claim is that it (the malfunction) had to do with a sensor and some of the fans in the chiller,” Hodge said, adding that issue is expected to be rectified by Friday, September 13.

Normal operating hours will resume once the problem if fully rectified.

Shares

Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

20 Comments

Disclaimer: BVI News and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the comments below or other interaction among the users.

  1. Unbelievable says:

    Get some fans or suck it up like the rest of us….if you work on a boat, in construction, roadworks, in many restaurants, as a teacher, a gardener, a stay at home Mom, or a thousand other non government jobs…..most of your day isn’t in AC! Imagine if the rest of the working world could only go in to work if they were super comfy. Ridiculous.

    Like 40
    Dislike 5
    • Knock it down says:

      Knock the building down, sell the prime waterfront land to a developer. Have the developer put in a resort, restaurants, shops and a casino. Develop the tourism sector. The government building shouldn’t be located on prime land. Make the property available to the highest and best use. The sake of the land would pay for a new building at another location. Try looking around the world. What you do is wrong. Government employees don’t need a view of the sea. They need to work

      Like 19
      Dislike 4
      • Agree says:

        @Knock it down
        Yes. Talking sense. No need for government officials and civil servants to be housed in fancy offices on the most valuable real estate in Road Town. That property needs to be making revenue for the government not a drain on public funds.

    • civil servant says:

      bruh that building have mold as well as heat now without the a.c, what you trying do kill us

      Like 4
      Dislike 4
    • @unbelievable says:

      yea you suck up the mold and see what it does to you whether in heat or cold ac mold is mold. The state of that building is worst than you imagine. People health is really deteriorating. Inhumane conditions, and HR policies are outdated to the needs of civil servants. Most persons afraid to stand up to these conditions.

  2. Yellow says:

    Our ancestors would be turning in their graves?
    Hot? These people can’t take a little heat while doing their jobs (paid for by tax payers). Is their pay being cut to reflect their reduced hours? Aren’t we all supposed to be pulling together to rebuild this place and get the territory back on track. This sends a poor signal to those folks with real problems (like no home or no job).
    What did we do before the luxury of AC…. we used fans.
    Suck it up n sweat a little for a change.

    Like 30
    Dislike 5
  3. wow says:

    You all come work in the devils kitchen from blogging pi$$

    Like 6
    Dislike 2
  4. Hmm says:

    Imagine working in a building with no windows or way for fresh air to hit you for over two weeks. To make it worse people come from outside with added heat on them and everyone fill a room with no air. All the other bloggers not making sense. They aren’t outside or where there is air, they are trapped in a huge hot structure with no air coming in.

    Like 8
    Dislike 8
    • joke says:

      That’ll teach the government and the spoilt civil servants for approving a ridiculous building that supposedly can’t function without expensive air-conditioning. The building should have been designed using sustainable features. People worked in all manner of environments without AC for hundreds of years without a grumble. And now people are too precious to get hot or to sweat while doing the government’s vital work, all the while collecting a fat government salary. You are public servants. Stop complaining and do your job. If you don’t want to work others will happily take your place and do it without complaining.

      Like 13
      Dislike 3
  5. Wow says:

    I understand that it’s hot but how about allowing staff to dress casual, i.e. jeans, t-shirt/polo or whatever is comfortable in order to operate in the heat until it’s fixed? Get a few fans, dress accordingly and get on with it. The kids are in schools with no ac as well and they’re supposed to listen and learn but grown ass people can’t bear some heat for a few days?

    Like 24
    Dislike 1
    • civil servant says:

      few days this is now the second straight week, its inhumane

      Like 1
      Dislike 6
      • Inhumane says:

        @civil servant
        Sitting in a comfy comfy $200 desk chair in your fine clothes while collecting a nice salary regardless of your productivity? You think this is inhumane just because it’s a little warm and muggy for a change?
        You need to watch the news or study history and then you’ll realize what is inhumane.
        If it was me I would take a fan from my own home and set it up on my desk and a big flask of ice cold water and do the work the taxpayers are paying me to do.
        I don’t get to go home on full pay just because I’m feeling hot and sweaty at work. I suck it up and get on with my job.

        Like 13
        Dislike 1
  6. White elephant says:

    Poor design, poor maintenance, move along. And, amen to those who commented about living with no A/C. I’ll take no A/C over BVI Electricity bills in the hundreds.

    Like 12
    Dislike 1
  7. A Civil Servant says:

    All ayo who talking bout sucking it up or dealing with the heat ain’t in the situation so ayo going run ayo mouth under here but if ayo was to be in the situation ayo woulda been begging to get out the heat! And those that talking bout tax payers money, we pay that s**t too so it’s our tax payers money too. A set of miserable people under here with their negative comments.

    Like 1
    Dislike 16
    • Education! says:

      First off, I absolutely think you could have gotten some fans and sucked it up.
      Secondly, maybe the government should have sent you back to Gr 2 on your afternoons off so you could learn proper written and spoken English.
      Appalling to think you have a government job when you can’t put a grammatically correct sentence together.

      Like 8
      Dislike 1
  8. Fair says:

    @ A Civil Servant
    So you getting paid for doing no work? Sure you are. You think this is fair?
    I don’t have AC at my work. I work in a hot concrete block building with no breeze. It’s hot. But I have a fan and drink plenty cold water. And it’s a job and I need to get paid.
    I don’t have AC at home. It’s a small apartment with no breeze. It’s hot. But I use fans and drink ice cold water. I can’t afford to run AC. So I make do.
    Nobody asking you guys to swim with sharks. Just sit at your desk and do the work you’re being paid for. It’s no hotter in there than most of us deal with every day. You think it’s hot because you’re not used to it. But it’s not going to kill you. You’ll get accustom to it.

  9. Get serious BVI says:

    Lease this prime land to a proper developer who will create something valuable to attract business and tourism yet also have amenity value for residents.

    With that or tied to it, build a simple safe government building elsewhere (where it won’t exacerbate traffic) and make it LEED Platinum, a place to be proud of and where people enjoy a healthy working environment. You’ll be amazed how employees respond to that too.

  10. Tear it down says:

    Forget the air condition. This building needs to be condemned. HOW MANY ILL EMPLOYEES WILL IT TAKE FOR THE POWERS TO BE TO TAKE ACTION?? Ppl have been sent home SICK and banned from entering this building due to the deplorable environmental conditions. This was well before Irmaria. It must be worse now. Are we for real? Why are employees continuing to show up to this place knowing they are endangered??

Leave a Reply

Shares