WORKERS at the Barbados Drug Service went on a go-slow yesterday protesting unsanitary conditions at the Jemmott's Lane, St Michael building.

Deputy general secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Dennis Clarke, said there were "certain areas [in which staff were] exposed to asbestos roofing".

"There are offices which store paper on top of paper, where you smell ink from printed matter stored there, and this is a big hazard to staff," Clarke added.

He said the building had also become a dumping ground for screens and keyboards which he believed would have been returned from various centres.

"The building is rotting and in some areas there is a stench. It is no place where workers should be housed or asked to work in, and most of the staff are suffering from respiratory problems," he added. Clarke said the workers should not be in the building as it was condemned ten years ago and the authorities already knew this.

Director of the Drug Service, Dr Maryam Hinds, said officials were working to rectify the situation and were planning an industrial cleaning of the building. She also said they were looking at relocating the offices. (CA)