CANU officers sacked for refusing lie detector tests

Oct 03, 2010 News 0

Four ranks of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) have been dismissed for failing to turn up for the most recent lie detector tests.
Kaieteur News understands that among the four ranks of the drug fighting unit was a long serving officer.
The four, identified as Frederick Gaspar, Omadat, Rao, and Graham.
According to reports, the four were among ranks informed of the lie detector tests. They objected and failed to report for duty on the day of the tests which were to be conducted Friday.
They were dismissed with immediate effect, according to CANU sources.
CANU, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, had taken the decision not to renew the contracts of the four employees.
The controversial tests have come under fire from several quarters with even the trade unions saying that using it as a basis to determine workers’ integrity was not legal.
However, similar tests were conducted in June 2008, at CANU and its head, Orville Nedd and eight others were fired for failing.
It was unclear whether the tests were conducted on the upper management of CANU and whether authorities will next eye the Guyana Revenue Authority to carry out similar exercises on staffers there.
Some countries do not recognise the validity of the polygraph tests as a means to determine staffers’ honesty.
The U.S federal law governing lie-detector tests stipulates that an employee cannot be fired for failing the test, or for even refusing to take the test.
According to the Global Polygraph Network, employers are permitted to request that employees submit to a polygraph exam under some specific conditions as provided for by U.S. federal law.
Last year, another exercise was conducted where staffers of the police’s Narcotics Branch and Guyana Energy Authority were among those tested.