Police deny Riverside Plaza employees claims

POLICE have denied claims by employees of Riverside Plaza in Port-of-Spain that they are plagued by muggings and robberies. “That is totally untrue, the records do not show that, unless no reports were made. For the year we have had two reports of muggings and one has been solved,” a senior officer said.

The senior officer was responding to claims made by workers at a midday meeting held on Monday on the compound of the plaza that the robberies and muggings that started intermittently in 2001 are now occurring on a daily basis. The plaza houses three ministries: Energy and Energy Industries, Labour/Small and Micro Enterprises Development and Trade and Industry. “Once it was safe for workers to come outside and breeze. Now that is no more,” an angry, vociferous Valerie Boissiere, spokesperson for the workers and an employee of the Energy Ministry told Newsday.

“Enough is enough; we are fed up. For too long this has been going on and no one is putting anything in place to stop it. The authorities are doing nothing to allay the fears of the employees.” She said that workers cannot stay on the compound after 5 pm or leave by themselves because they could be robbed or mugged. The outspoken woman also claimed that visitors to the plaza are also at risk.

Also addressing the employees was Deonath Patrick Maharahj, Labour Relations Officer of the Ministry of Labour, who spoke about the employees’ safety and the fact that the building should be very safe since it is situated between two police stations. After a meeting between ACP Crime Gilbert Reyes and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Labour Emanuel George, it was agreed that patrols would be stepped up.