FALMOUTH, Trelawny — The Postal Corporation of Jamaica is yet to secure the more than US$180,000 needed to repair its 19th century heritage building in the Georgian town of Falmouth that houses the post office.

“The building that houses the Falmouth post office has been in disrepair for sometime. It is not in our budget to fix it on our own and we have sought assistance from several places, including the former minister of tourism (Ed Bartlett), but so far we have not gotten any assistance to help up fix the office,” said Tandy Lewis, the public relations officer at the Postal Corporation of Jamaica.

She said however, that the Postal Corporation of Jamaica has now approached the ministry of finance for help, after it received another estimate for the scope of work to be undertaken at the facility.

“We have gotten a quotation last week from the Falmouth Renewal Development Company for the post office repairs in order to ensure that the Georgian architecture is maintained and we are now in discussions with the ministry of finance to fund the effort,” she told the Observer West on Tuesday.

Nine persons, including seven females, operate from the facility, which serves 48 communities in Trelawny between the hours of 8:00am and 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

But the postal workers are working under very trying circumstances.

Over the past months several of them have reportedly fallen ill due to the existing poor working conditions at the historic landmark.

“The damage to the building is quite severe at this time,” Lewis stressed.

Apart from the termite infestation, the roof of the two- storey building is riddled with holes, while most of the board on the upper flooring is rotten.

The building which also has defective doors and windows is also badly in need of electrical and plumbing works.

One of the postal workers who did not want to be named, told the Observer West that whenever it rains the general mail delivery area is flooded, resulting in the suspension of service to customers.

” Water is sometimes at ankle high in here whenever there is a heavy downpour, and the office attendant have to be sweeping out lots of water. We also have to put away the mail in bags so they don’t get wet. It’s really, really bad,” she stressed.

Lewis said Post Master General Michael Gentles is aware of the existing poor working conditions and has been trying to find a suitable place to relocate the postal service.

” The workers are unhappy, but at the same time they do understand the challenges that we are having. They know that we have been trying to find an alternative location and the difficulty we are having in doing so,” she explained.

She lauded the workers for continuing to give “excellent service,” despite the undesired working conditions.

” Even when we have inclement weather which forces them to close off a part of the office and having to move the mail so they don’t become wet, they continue giving us excellent service,” said emphasised.

Yesterday, several pensioners complained bitterly to the Observer West about the gross inconvenience they experience whenever it rains.

“During the rain the postal clerks are kept busy ensuring that the mail are not damaged by water and so they are not available to attend to us. The roofing needs to be shingled because anytime the rain falls it is problem for everybody,” said a disgruntled pensioner.

Additionally, the pensioners say they are fearful of venturing in the facility during the rain as the wet floor might cause them to lose their balance and fall.

” It is very inconvenient (during the rain), as the staff can’t get to serve us because the floor is wet. They (postal clerks) also have to secure the mail. If you are allowed to go in you can slide on the floor,” a pensioner rued.

A retired firefighter who collects his monthly pension at the post office argued that even though pension payments can be accessed at the bank, there is urgent need for the repair of the post office, stressing that ” the normal bank customers plus the pensioners result in longer waits in line at the bank.”

— Additional reporting by Horace Hines