TAJ King Street Office Briefly Closes as Workers Protest Persistent Odour

Tax Administration Jamaica’s office on King Street in downtown Kingston temporarily shut its doors on Thursday after employees left their posts because of a strong smell, with differing accounts emerging about what caused it.

According to TAJ, the information available to the agency indicated that the odour came from a dead animal nearby. Staff members who spoke to the Jamaica Observer, however, insisted the problem extends beyond a single incident and said unpleasant conditions have affected the workplace for some time.

TAJ Director of Communications Merris Haughton told the Observer the smell was linked to an animal carcass in the area. She said management moved to close the building once complaints started on Thursday, citing the safety of employees and the public while checks were carried out.

The office resumed operations shortly before midday, and Haughton said the matter had been addressed after the carcass was removed.

Before reopening, workers expressed frustration, saying this was not the first occasion on which they had to contend with poor conditions inside the building. One employee said, “The building is basically condemned… This is not the first instance. We had issues where sewage water is coming up toilets on the ground floor,” in comments to the Observer.

That employee also said the odour is only one of several longstanding issues. “Cashiers are at their stations and they have to be fanning flies, big flies. Then there is also the issue of leaks where you are on one floor in the bathroom and a leak is coming from the bathroom above… we don’t know what kind of water that is and that is dripping on people,” the worker claimed.

The strongest smell was reported just outside the tax office and on the ground level, where cashiers are located. As the Observer team moved upward through the building, the scent was less severe.

A source told the newspaper that weaker odours on upper levels did not mean the issue was confined to one area. “The fact that you are not smelling it on other floors doesn’t mean it’s not travelling through the ducts and the pipes. They are trying their best to cover it up and employees are reluctant to speak… No one wants to be deemed the one who is, in Jamaican terms, ‘the informer’,” the source said.

On Thursday morning, several workers were seen on the opposite side of the road from the office as they sought fresh air. One employee said, “It is not just the scent, if we are going to be honest…There is just a high odour today but there some other issues in the building, that’s probably where this is coming from.”

The same worker said TAJ management had attempted multiple fixes, but argued the interventions were not solving the wider situation. “have been trying different things to kind of eliminate it. It’s just that as you pull at one thing something else comes up. We need a new home because this one is not conducive to us.”

Another employee told the Observer management has heard workers’ concerns and understands that most employees are affected, but said the problems have not yet been resolved to staff satisfaction.

Responding to allegations about sewage backing up through toilets, Haughton said she would look into that specific complaint and noted that sewage backflow has been an issue in sections of downtown Kingston.