00:00Evacuate. Bomb on the second floor. The message written in what appears to be
00:05lipstick in a staff bathroom at the office of the Prime Minister in Sinclair
00:08was discovered by several employees around 9.30 a.m. Public Utilities
00:13Minister and Minister in the office of the Prime Minister Barry Padares tells
00:17us health and safety officers were informed. To which the bomb squad, the fire
00:22services department etc was then called in. They did a thorough check of the
00:28promised premises which lasted a couple hours and at around 1 p.m. this
00:33afternoon, operations were able to resume and staff who remained on the
00:39premises in terms of the evacuation area, they were allowed to go back into the
00:46building. Investigation has been launched to determine the source of the
00:51information. The Sinclair office houses various services under the OPM including
00:56government information services and administrative departments. Padares says a
01:01little over 200 employees function out of that location and a significant amount
01:05of man hours were lost to ensure OSH compliance with such threats. Additionally,
01:12the street in front of the OPM was cordoned off by police past midday. As for
01:16any possible psychological impact on employees? I spoke with the Permanent Secretary, the head of the
01:22public service, Ms. Natasha Barrow a short while ago. She has been meeting with the heads of
01:28departments and heads of divisions at the office of the Prime Minister in terms of the impact that it has
01:33had on employees at the Sinclair office. And over the next day or two, she will be sharing any other
01:41recommendations in terms of how do we treat with additional security measures for staff, health,
01:48well-being and security. We have not received any adverse reports as it relates to the impact
01:55psychological or otherwise that it has had on employees. However, out of an abundance of caution,
02:02assessments will continue. Whether it was an intentional threat or something done out of idleness
02:08is unknown at this time. But the minister highlights that it is important for employees to have a
02:13comfortable and sustainable environment. And he says there must be an area of recourse pertaining to
02:18people who seek to disrupt that. It can't just be a slap on the risk. We have to take these things
02:23seriously in terms of the environment in which we find ourselves in today globally and in terms of
02:29crime and the impact that it has had on Trinidad and Tobago. So we have lost a number of manpower
02:36hours today in terms of productivity. And it's the people of Trinidad and Tobago that lose ultimately
02:42the premises of it as a hub of all activity. The minister is calling on perpetrators of these acts
02:48to cease and desist. Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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