DRUG-TESTING POLICY GOES TO ARBITRATOR

Workers' rights are being trampled by a new drug-testing policy introduced
in British Columbia this month by Weyerhaeuser Co., says IWA Canada.

The union is taking Weyerhaeuser's policy, introduced Feb. 1, before an
arbitrator, claiming workers should not have to provide urine tests to
their employer.

Testing of union members at Weyerhaeuser operations across Canada has been
put on hold until the issue is settled. However, Weyerhaeuser is continuing
to test staff outside the union.

Employees are only required to provide a urine sample if there has been a
safety-related incident, said Weyerhaeuser director of safety Al Dewar.

Since Feb. 1, only one staff member in the company's B.C. operations has
been tested, following a workplace incident. Dewar would not elaborate on
the situation, citing confidentiality, other than to say no drugs or
alcohol were found.

The union objects to Weyerhaeuser's policy, saying the company is taking
the issue of drugs and alcohol too far. Under the policy, a worker is not
permitted to have alcohol eight hours before going to work, said Wilf
McIntyre, IWA second vice-president. That means a graveyard shift worker
who has wine with dinner could be disciplined if tested at midnight.

Also, if a worker does test positive, he or she can be ordered to take
counselling and can be randomly tested afterwards. If workers do not
cooperate, they can be fired, he said.

"You could smoke a joint on Friday evening and Monday morning, if you were
tested, you would still probably show that you have it in your system. So
this is the fight that is on: How do you tell when somebody is impaired; if
somebody has a problem?"

McIntyre said drug-testing is more a part of U.S. corporate policy than it
is in Canada and the IWA does not want to see it introduced here to the
extent it is in place in the U.S. "This isn't about safety. It's about
instituting a policy out of the U.S. head office," McIntyre said.

Weyerhaeuser says its policy is entirely consistent with drug policies now
in place in Canada in the oil and gas industry.

Dewar said the company introduced testing to improve worker accountability
on safety issues.

"We do have to do some things differently and I think drug-testing is just
one small part of that, but it is part and parcel."

A Weyerhaeuser poll of its workforce showed one in five think drugs and
alcohol are a workplace problem. "The whole intent is to give people a
chance to do something about it if drugs or alcohol is found in their
system," Dewar said.