WORK DRUG TESTS GET GO-AHEAD

A COMPANY'S move to implement a "fitness for duty" policy which involves
testing for the presence of drugs irrespective of impairment has been
upheld by the WA Industrial Relations Commission.

In a decision handed down yesterday, Senior Commissioner Andrew Beech
declared that it was reasonable for Pioneer Construction Materials to
conduct urine tests on its employees.

In his decision, Senior Commissioner Beech acknowledged that randomly
testing employees for drugs was a controversial issue.

He said the issue could be re-visited in the future.

"Testing for the presence of drugs in an employee's urine does not
establish whether or not that employee is impaired in the performance of
their work," he said.

"Penalising an employee for having tested positive for the presence of
drugs in their urine will always leave open the argument that even though
the employee has tested positive for drugs, the employee has not been
thereby shown to have been impaired and the penalty is unfair."

The matter arose after the Transport Workers Union opposed urine tests in
favour of saliva tests, claiming the latter was less intrusive and a better
indicator of impairment.

The TWU also claimed that some over-the-counter drugs, such as codeine,
would return a positive result in a urine test.

TWU organiser John Cain told the commission that the union was not opposed
to a fitness for duty policy or random drug and alcohol tests.

Mr Cain said Victorian police were trailing saliva tests for motorists
suspected of being under the influence of drugs and Pioneer should follow
the same route.

Senior Commissioner Beech said his decision was based on a previous WAIRC
ruling, existing standards and expert testimony regarding the reliability
of the two tests.

Expert witnesses called by Pioneer testified that saliva testing was in its
infancy but urine testing was well-established and less likely to produce
false readings.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA director of employee relations Bruce
Williams said the decision was unremarkable.

"It reinforces the principal that the industrial commission has previously
endorsed that random drug and alcohol testing is appropriate in the
workplace," he said.

UnionsWA secretary Stephanie Mayman said there was currently no accurate
test to determine impairment. Ms Mayman said the commission should re-visit
the matter when such tests became available.

Pioneer has about 250 employees in WA, the majority of whom operate the
company's 139 commercial vehicles.