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.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin