Pubdate: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 Source: Dominion Post, The (New Zealand) Copyright: 2005 The Dominion Post Contact: http://www.dompost.co.nz Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2550 Author: Nikki MacDonald Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) DRUG TEST NAIL WORKERS Nearly one in five workers tested for drugs after workplace accidents in the past year returned positive results. Testing of staff for drug use has doubled compared with two years ago, and there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of companies signing up for the service, Environmental Science and Research said. Though cannabis remained the most common drug, making up 73 per cent of all positive tests, amphetamine use was increasing, ESR programme manager Shelli Turner said. ESR carried out 24,000 workplace drug tests in the last financial year, most of which were pre-employment screening tests. Of those people tested after workplace accidents, 18 per cent tested positive, Ms Turner said. Employers were taking the issue seriously, especially since the amendment to health and safety laws listed drugs as a specific hazard, she said. ESR now had about 600 companies on its books, compared with 400 last year. Advertisement Several smaller employers had started drug testing because other companies in the same industry already screened their employees and the smaller firms were being saddled with workers unable to get a job elsewhere, Ms Turner said. Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said the number of workers testing positive for drugs after accidents was a concern and a reminder to employers that drug use could not be ignored as a safety issue. As drug testing became more widely accepted, the number of businesses testing staff would grow, Mr O'Reilly said. However, he could not see the practice spreading to white collar companies as in some other countries, where it had become a matter of professional reputation. "I suspect it is a trend that will continue to increase, but it would have to be justified on health and safety grounds," he said. Kean O'Neill, general manager of Hutt Valley manufacturer BJC Elements, said last week that accidents had all but disappeared from his workplace since he began drug testing about five years ago. The move, which he said was one of the best decisions he had made, had also improved productivity. Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little said drug testing had become a a reality and, though his union was opposed to random testing, it generally accepted pre-employment, post-accident and "on suspicion" testing as long as conditions were fair. Drug use was usually a symptom of other problems and, in most cases, positive drug tests were followed up with support rather than dismissal, Mr Little said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin