NO TESTING YET FOR BOOZE, DRUGS

Impaired TTC Workers 'Not A Regular Occurrence'

The TTC has made "no decisions" about drug and alcohol testing for
its employees, TTC chairman Adam Giambrone said yesterday.

The transit authority is only looking at potential testing as part of
an overall employee safety review, which includes the creation of a
"fitness for duty" policy for workers, he said.

The safety review was sparked in part by the death in April 2007 of
Tony Almeida, 38, a maintenance worker who was crushed in a subway tunnel.

Giambrone, who spoke recently with the mayor about drug and alcohol
testing for workers, said the TTC needs to balance the rights of
employees with the safety of the 1.5 million transit riders.

"He's asked us to take a very thorough look, to be very cautious
about this," said Giambrone, who expects a decision later this
summer. "We'll look at the issue with extreme detail before we would
come to any conclusions and that's exactly what we're doing."

There were reports yesterday Almeida had marijuana in his system at
the time of his death, but Giambrone refused to discuss the incident
until a report arrives June 18.

Giambrone had no figures yesterday, but he said cases of intoxicated
workers are "not a regular occurrence. It has happened before ... I
think that's to be expected when you have 12,000 employees, you
operate close to 2,000 vehicles," he said. "It is something we take
very seriously."

Earlier this week a TTC driver was charged with impaired driving.
Giambrone said an employee found driving drunk is fired "on the spot."

The head of the TTC union representing 9,000 drivers and maintenance
workers has said there are about a half dozen cases a year in which
employees are intoxicated on the job.

But Bob Kinnear condemn -ed media reports that Almeida was under the
influence at the time of the 2007 crash.

"After an exhaustive year-long investigation, there is no evidence
that (Almeida) was responsible for the accident," Kinnear said in a statement.

He noted the TTC was fined $250,000 under the Occupational Health and
Safety Act over the accident.

'SIDE OF SAFETY'

Kinnear refused to comment yesterday on drug and alcohol testing for
TTC employees, saying he wants to see a specific proposal.

"Our union's policy on fitness for work has always been the same. If
for any reason, you do not feel able to safely perform your duties,
do not report to work," he said in a statement. "Many prescription
drugs can cause some degree of impairment, let alone other
substances, and we must always err on the side of safety."