OHS REPS @ WORK

29 November 2002: Unions reject employer calls for drug testing.

Victorian Trades Hall Council OH&S Training unit coordinator Ms Cathy Butcher today rejected a call by employers to conduct invasive mandatory drug and alcohol testing on workers.

Ms Butcher was responding to the release of a survey by the corporate health company Health Works that found 80 per cent of employers supported mandatory testing in the event of a workplace accident.

Ms Butcher said that most workers would encourage improvements to health and safety in the workplace, but said that employers' were ignoring the fact that less than five percent of workplace accidents involve alcohol and drugs.

"The call by employers for mandatory drug and alcohol testing is a red herring designed to explicitly draw attention away from the real issues of health and safety in the workplace. "

"It is an attempt to shift the burden of responsibility onto workers and to hide the employers' failure to implement comprehensive policies and strategies to deal with the known hazards in their workplaces," Ms Butcher said.

Ms Butcher said that the real issue at stake was the impairment of workers as a result of higher levels of workplace stress.

"Workers are under increasing pressure to be more productive and work longer hours. Research confirms that working excessively can often result in ill health and may affect performance. If someone is overtired or exhausted as a result of overwork they are more likely to show signs of impairment. You don't need to be taking drugs or drinking on the job for this to happen."