| …on leave staffers fearful as dismissals continueFour former employees of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) on Friday took to the streets in protest over their recent dismissal from the energy agency after failing lie detector tests. The quartet stood in protest at the agency’s head office calling for an investigation into the use of the polygraph test and for leaders of the agency to face the same scrutiny as they did.The staffers were angry over the loss of employment and theThe dismissed staffers protesting outside the GEA office on Friday.“false picture” which they said the dismissal paints of them.Vernon James said that he was one of those dismissed because he did not volunteer to be tested. “I knew it was a violation of my rights and I did not have to take any test,” he told Kaieteur News. “There seems to be a bigger picture, a bigger plan with the use of this polygraph test,” he opined.James argued that when he refused to take the test; he was called in by the company’s Chief Executive Officer,Cheap Air Max Tn, Mahendra Sharma,Cheap Air Jordan Shoes Wholesale, and was told that he would be fired. When asked the reason for him being fired, James said Sharma reported that persons had made complaints about him taking bribes and money from persons.This, however, did not prompt the CEO to hold a confrontation with those reportedly making the allegations,Nike Air Max 1 Womens Sale, James related. He said that there needs to be an investigation into what is going at the agency.Holly Ann France said that the questions she was asked during the polygraph test had nothing to do with her work. The questions were politically driven and personal,Cheap Jerseys, the young woman said. She was asked whether she ever conspired against the government or whether she had a problem with the current administration. She was also asked about her family and their political ties,Cheap Mens Jordan Sneakers, the woman alleged.Nickeshia Gordon was extremely concerned with the “bad reputation” the dismissal would give those terminated and the difficulty it could pose for future work prospects. She asserted that employers will cite them for being dismissed based on corruption, “when in fact that is not the case.”She said that based on her knowledge, failure of a polygraph test does not constitute dismissal from a work place and reiterated that those terminated by the agency were dealt a great injustice.Jeannel Noble suggested a biased nature in the application of the test. The former employee called for the testing of senior officials before relating that on many instances while in the field, persons have alleged making payments to agency senior officials. She related that the persons in a better position to be involved in corrupt practices have not been tested while low line staffers and foot men are the ones feeling the squeeze.The workers further mentioned that despite failing the polygraph, none of those dismissed have seen their test results.In the meantime, more staffers have fallen victim to the lie detector test. One more person was dismissed from the agency last Monday, while staffers on leave, say they are not too anxious to return to the work place. Kaieteur News was told that a marking officer was the last worker to be dismissed from GEA.A worker on vacation leave told Kaieteur News that he is not too anxious to return to work in light of what is taking place. He said that he is fearful that he too might be dismissed since the application of the test was done, “indiscriminately,” and no one seems safe, even those who refused to take the test.CEO Mahendra Sharma in an email to this newspaper said that to maintain the agency’s integrity, 21 out of 34 persons had to be terminated after failing polygraph tests; among them inspectors and fuel markers.The CEO said that while some persons had resigned from the agency, those remaining had their contracts terminated or it is in the process of being terminated. He noted that in addition to continuous monitoring of activities, work ethic,Nike Shox Gravity 2018, conduct, successes, failures and subsequent investigations of reports of corrupt practices; polygraph tests have been institutionalized as part of the drive to ensure system integrity.Kaieteur News however tried to make contact with Sharma on the operational aspects of the agency but he refused a response on the grounds that Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, had already commented on the matter and that he would say nothing more on the matter. |
