Government has once again been exposed for “deliberately failing to safeguard the interests of the public”, according to the One Bermuda Alliance.Shadow Minister for Public Works Mark Pettingill has spoken out about Government’s decision to “override technical officers to push through” a contract that violated health and safety regulations.The Royal Gazette yesterday revealed the details of a damning report that showed Public Works Minister and Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess had put the health of its workers at risk by allowing inadequate and potentially dangerous lights to be installed at Global House.We reported that replacing the 1,300 fluorescent tube lights with LED fixtures had promoted a series of staff complaints after a series of errors.The leaked report highlighted that no feasibility study had been carried out, technical officers had warned against the new lighting, the light bulbs were not certified by a recognised electrical testing laboratory and an electrical report was not applied for.Mr Pettingill said to make matters worse the report on the lighting came just days after the Andre Curtis Supreme Court trial shed light on “the lack of control over the spending of public money.”He said: “The Global House lighting situation was an avoidable mess. All that was needed was a Minister whose decisions were guided by what best served the public interest.“The LED lighting scandal underscores the need for a Contractor General, independent of Government, whose sole role is to oversee the tendering process, monitor projects and contracts to ensure that rules and guidelines are strictly enforced and to identify any unfair practices or offensive conduct that takes place in government-sponsored projects.“The key point in this proposal is the Contractor General’s independence. If the Government is not interested in protecting the public interest, someone must.”The Opposition party is now seeking answers to a series of questions that have been raised by the Global House’s lighting contract.They would like to know why the Minister pushed ahead with the lighting contract when everything said ‘Wait a minute’, did Ministry officials know the LED tubes were not in compliance with Bermuda standards prior to the contract being signed and does the Ministry plan eye-testing for employees exposed to the ‘blue-light hazard?’They also want to know if Cabinet supports the Electrical Technology Management (ETM) contract and who the main players behind ETM are.Mr Pettingill added that he did however congratulate the staff in Works & Engineering’s Electrical Section for compiling their “highly critical report on the Global House affair.”He said: “It took courage. We will be watching for any repercussions.”BPSU president Kevin Grant said whenever the working conditions of employees were negatively impacted it was “cause for concern” as it was “a breach of the law”.He said: “Workers have to be able to perform their normal duties in an efficient manner.“What I assume happened in this situation is that the Minister was looking at trying to do more with less.“But it shouldn’t have repercussions on the health and safety of workers and their working conditions.”Mr Grant said he hadn’t received any complaints from Government workers about the lighting at Global House, but would take any such correspondence “very seriously indeed”.He added: “If any civil servant has any such grievances with their working conditions, we are here to help. We aim to be proactive rather than reactive.”A spokesman for Premier Paula Cox said last night: “The Government has zero tolerance for all practices that contravene Financial Instructions.“I would also take this opportunity to advise the public that the Procurement Code of Practice and Financial Instructions Regulations will be Gazetted and made available to the public before the end of the year. This will reinforce by notice to the public and government employees the rules of engagement.”