Ministry of Labour office in Clarendon unsuitable for public

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing to express my profound disappointment with the continued lapse of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in its service delivery at its Clarendon parish office. For those unfamiliar, the current office is located at 6B Manchester Avenue, May Pen, Clarendon, and is situated on the floor above the May Pen branch office of a financial institution. On visiting the location, one will immediately realise it is most unsuitable for its current usage.

This is directly related to the ministry’s most popular services: administration of the National Insurance Scheme which facilitates remits to pensioners, the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), as well as the Abilities Foundation of Jamaica Limited, to name a few. These programmes are accessible to those that qualify but primarily target the needy, differently abled, indigent, and, in the case of the pension scheme, cater to the elderly.

It is egregious, then, painful even, to see all customers, but especially pensioners, the disabled and caretakers of the very young trawling up and down two flights of outdoor stairs in rain and sunshine (sometimes both). I have witnessed an elderly woman fearfully descending the stairs during heavy rainfall, apologising for blocking the narrow spiral stairway because she feared descending too quickly would make her slip on the wet concrete or broken-off sections of the steps. With no elevator access, I have also seen scores of persons standing and waiting downstairs outside in the heat and rain because the waiting area upstairs is full or they simply cannot manage to go up for a number. They are told to go wait downstairs again. Don’t even get me started on the anecdotal evidence of security personnel carrying frail elderly customers up to the office to get their affairs in order. Many stories like these have been shared among fellow Clarendonians who, like me, see this accepted status quo as humiliating and a downright disgrace.

Delivery of good customer service starts with making the service accessible to customers in the first place. And, on that note, as with many other areas of business within our society, we are miserably failing. Please, let us not wait until there is an injury or fatality before we make the requisite changes – whether temporary or long-term.

CONCERNED CITIZEN

Longville Park, Clarendon