An employment case where two Customs officers are fighting for their jobs back, after being sacked for leaking accusations about a gay colleague, is being heard by the Employment Relations Authority. The two men lost their jobs after allegedly leaking The Press details about another Christchurch Customs officer, described as "flamboyant", who they accused of seeking more than his share of strip-search assignments and making lewd comments about male passengers. Both men deny leaking material and claim they were unjustifiably dismissed. They are fighting to get their jobs back. The Press reports the saga started with the gay officer lodging a sexual harassment complaint against Rankin. An inquiry drew complaints from other employees about the gay officer. Although he was counselled for unprofessional behaviour, he was cleared of major misconduct and allowed to continue in his job. A Customs Service manager has told the hearing that the gay officer's search statistics could look bad, but he worked the busiest shifts and was often the only male available to search male passengers. The Press reports the case has disclosed a Customs Service policy that bars the service from asking the sexual orientation of its frontline officers because of potential charges of unlawful discrimination. Its legal advice says passengers are not entitled to know the sexual orientation of officers conducting strip searches at airports and ports.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 18th June 2010 - 12:27pm