Fired forest officer appeals

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56529477

Fired forest officer appeals
Stabroek News, Monday, September 24th 2007

The fired Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) senior officer has filed an
appeal in the hope of clearing his name and has referred to a section
of the GFC's Human Resource Department (HRD) Policies and Procedures
manual to strengthen his case.

Rudolph Adams, former assistant commissioner of forests who was
dismissed last month for alleged breaches of operations procedure, said
that according to the HRD manual, as a senior officer he should not
have been fired without the board of the GFC being involved. And he
said that according to his information, the new board has not been
constituted.

Adams told this newspaper that he wanted his case heard by an
arbitration committee, which Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud has
promised to put in place. He said it was the absence of the board that
led him to seek the minister's intervention.

Adams said he heard that one of the persons selected to serve on the
arbitration panel was currently out of the country, hence the delay in
the panel meeting and deliberating on the case. Writing on August 29 to
Dhanraj Bipcharran, Head of Human Resources and Administration at the
GFC, Adams said: "…I hereby notify management by way of this letter
[of my intention] to appeal the decision …terminating my contract
with the GFC as stipulated in the Human Resources Depart Policies and
Procedures Manual section 4.10.11."

He said in the letter that the GFC's letter of termination to him
didn't state any specific reason for the decision to terminate his
contract.

A press release from the commission had stated in August that
disciplinary action was taken against two GFC employees, as well as
external stakeholders involved in the breach of procedures regarding
the export of forest produce from Guyana. The statement said the action
was taken after the commission had completed its detailed investigation
into the matter. A junior employee was suspended in relation to the
same incident.

The statement said the two GFC officers were disciplined in accordance
with the commission's Human Resources Policy Manual adding that
"disciplinary action has also been taken against the external
stakeholders who were involved in the identified breach of procedures."