BUILDERS FACING MANDATORY DRUG TESTS

Firms And Unions Negotiate Deal To Improve Safety

VANCOUVER -- Workers on unionized construction sites in B.C. will be
subject to mandatory drug testing under an agreement negotiated by
construction companies and unions. The agreement includes mandatory
testing for workers suspected of being intoxicated on the job or who
are involved in any work-place accident that could have resulted from
being impaired.

The policy was negotiated between the Construction Labour Relations
Association, representing companies, and the Bargaining Council of
B.C. Building Trades Unions.

It is aimed at improving safety in an industry with a reputation for
higher-than-average on-the-job drug use.

An industry official said it will establish a standard policy in the
province before several large-scale industrial construction projects
get started.

"We needed to come up with a policy before major projects started
coming to B.C. on the industrial side," said CLRA president Clyde
Scollan, adding that industrial construction projects often require
that workers be drug-tested before they are hired.

"We could see on the horizon there was more industrial work coming,"
he added, saying B.C. now has about 35,000 unionized construction workers.

One project in the pipeline is a $2-billion upgrade to Rio Tinto
Alcan's smelter in Kitimat, which Scollan said has already adopted
the new drug-testing policy.

"We're trying to represent our workers and their employers," Scollan
said, adding that the policy is fair to both workers and employers.

Mark Olsen, president of the union bargaining council, could not be
reached yesterday, but said in a news release he supports the policy.

"Construction work is dangerous enough without the added perils of
having impaired workers on the job site," he said.

Under the policy, employees who show signs of impairment on the job
site can be tested for alcohol and nine other drugs including
cocaine, methadone and marijuana.

An employee will be considered positive for marijuana only if his or
her test reveals impairment while on the job, as opposed to evidence
of use outside of work.

"We opted for a non-invasive testing policy which is designed to
measure possible current impairment on the job, not what you did last
week," said Olsen.

While there is no official statistical measure of drug use among B.C.
construction workers, anecdotal evidence suggests it is a significant problem.

Dave Stewart, senior manager of investigations with WorkSafe B.C.,
said his organization is currently surveying workers on about
impairment at construction sites, including use of illegal and
prescription drugs, and lack of sleep.

A similar study in Alberta in 2002 found 10 per cent of construction
workers used illegal drugs in the workplace.

B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair said he had not seen
the complete policy, but agreed with what it was trying to accomplish.