WORKING GROUP OPPOSES WIDESPREAD WORKPLACE DRUG TESTING

Tests Acceptable Only Under Special Circumstances

A working group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health does not
favour the establishment of widespread routine drug testing at Finnish
workplaces.

According to a report submitted on Wednesday, drug tests would only be
acceptable in special circumstances related to a specific task, to work
safety, or to a special need for an intoxicant-free working environment.

The working group feels that testing should not be used as a means of
assessing an employee's overall trustworthiness.

The group also calls for special legislation to set the ground rules for
workplace drug testing.

The working group was not unanimous; representatives of labour market
organisations and a representative of the Ministry of Labour submitted
dissenting opinions.

Those in the minority felt that the problems related to drug testing are so
difficult that more work would need to be done in a working group of the
Ministry of Labour.

The Minister of Social Services Osmo Soininvaara (Green) also felt that the
issue needs more consideration.

The Ministry of Labour working group is looking at the drug testing issue
from various points of view. Soininvaara said that he expects that the
issue will not be brought before Parliament until the Ministry of Labour
working group has completed its work.

As drug tests involve interference with an individual's fundamental rights,
the working group feels that testing should be mostly voluntary.

However, the working group feels that an employee should be obliged to take
part in a drug tests when the work involves a security risk, or if there is
reason to suspect that an employee is intoxicated while at work.

Pre-employment drug tests would also be possible in cases in which an
employee or trainee has already been chosen for a job.

The actual results of a drug test would be confidential; an employer would
not have the right to know if the test itself is positive or negative, but
the medical personnel conducting the test would give a statement on whether
or not the person in question is appropriate, conditionally appropriate, or
inappropriate for the job at hand.

The members of the working group feel that the drug testing procedures
currently in use are reliable, but that it is difficult to draw conclusions
on the nature of a person's use of intoxicants on the basis of the test
results alone.

The working group did not take a stand on testing for intoxicant use at
schools, saying that the issue needs more work.

The chairman of the working group, Matti Lamberg, believes that the
proposals in the group's report does not differ much from current practice
at many Finnish work places.

"Perhaps this would clarify it and give it a legal foundation, especially
with respect to fundamental rights", Lamberg says.

In the view of the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (TT),
the proposals of the working group do not go far enough. The TT has sent a
letter to Social Services Minister Soininvaara criticising the way the
working group was led, and complaining that the views of the labour market
organisations were ignored.

In the view of the TT, there are many economic and other important
interests linked with working life which make drug testing necessary.

A number of Finnish companies conduct pre-employment drug tests. Sonera has
had drug screening as part of its pre-employment physical for about a year.
The employer is not told of the result of the test, but the doctor takes
the result into consideration when giving a more general statement on
whether or not the prospective employee is suitable for the position.

If a Sonera employee is suspected of using drugs while at work, he or she
can undergo a voluntary test.

The Finnish Defence Forces are considering the implementation of drug tests
within its ranks. A drug strategy for the Defence Forces is scheduled for
completion in June.

Nokia does not have a drug testing programme. Nokia communications director
Tapani Kaskinen says that the company treats illegal drugs like any other
intoxicants: if an employee's behaviour gives reason to suspect that he or
she is intoxicated at work, the issue is discussed and testing is considered.