MORE WORKERS CAUGHT AS DRUG TESTS INCREASE

WORKPLACE drug screening has increased greatly over the past year, and
up to a third of job applicants in some industries have returned
positive tests.

The drug screening company Integrity Sampling said its workload had
quadrupled.

The NSW managing director, Ian Jameson, said: "More firms are choosing
to do it. In recent times the results have been frightening."

On average, 5 per cent of employees at each company had traditionally
tested positive to drugs. However, over the past year that figure has
almost doubled.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority will introduce regulations this
month to randomly test its workforce of up to 120,000 people.

Mr Jameson said the finance sector had also jumped on
board.

Statistics had revealed a worrying shift in drug trends, he
said.

"Historically, the highest detected drug was always cannabis. It has
now been replaced by methamphetamine, which includes ecstasy, speed
and ice . . . all extremely addictive and destructive. In Sydney,
methamphetamine and cocaine use is on the rise, and it looks set to
continue during the hard times."

The transport company Linfox conducts about 8500 random drug tests
each year as part of its Vision Zero policy.

In 2007, 31 per cent of applicants for drivers' jobs failed a
pre-employment drug test.

Widespread drug use has also been detected across rural-based
businesses including among fruit pickers, 30 per cent of job hopefuls
failing pre-employment saliva drug tests with one Riverina company.

Saliva tests are not the only option for workplace testing. New
technology can determine an employee's level of impairment by
measuring how a person's eyes react to light. It can also determine
whether impairment is due to drugs, alcohol, medication, fatigue and
sleep deprivation.

Anne O'Rourke, the vice-president of the civil liberties group Liberty
Victoria, said she was unconvinced about the grounds for supporting
widespread testing.