DRUG TESTING A WISE TRADE-OFF

It's a highly controversial issue. But we have to say that, on
balance, we welcome the new construction industry policy that all
unionized B.C. construction workers who have had workplace accidents
will face mandatory testing for drugs and alcohol.

After all, construction work is team work. And workers who are drunk
or stoned on the job are a hazard not only to themselves but to others
who rely on them for their own safety.

Besides, why should good, sober employees have to put up with those
who stumble around the job site like zombies and don't pull their
weight? Employers in the construction industry, in fact, have a duty
to provide as safe a workplace as they can.

For B.C. office workers, it may not be so critical to have a clear
head at all times. But if you're operating a crane, bulldozer or other
piece of heavy machinery, the consequences of your missteps can be
literally disastrous.

That said, no one wants to live in a world where Big Brother is
watching our every move -- and testing us for everything we put in our
body.

And the reality is that many construction workers are younger folks
who enjoy make good money and like to party a bit . . . or a lot.

There are also people's human rights to be considered. Also, as
Province reporter Susan Lazaruk noted last week, mandatory employee
drug-testing is illegal in Canada.

What is clearly needed here is as sensible compromise. And we think
that the Construction Labour Relations Association, representing the
employers, and the Bargaining Council of British Columbia Trades
Unions, representing the employees, have achieved that.

Under the new policy, workers must agree to be tested for alcohol and
nine common drugs, including marijuana, when they're hired and
periodically afterwards. A worker who then tested positive would
immediately be taken off the job, but could return when he or she got
the all-clear from a specialist.

The objective, we are told, is not to pry into workers' after-hours
life, but to ensure sobriety on the job.

Those who don't like the new policy and feel it violates their civil
rights have an option: They don't have to work in the unionized
construction business in B.C.