Pubdate: Sat, 23 Jun 2012 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2012 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) WORKPLACE TESTS SHOULD HAVE LIMITS Employees who habitually show up on time, clean and sober, ready and able to perform the duties for which they are paid should not be asked or required by their employers to submit to drug and alcohol testing. Unless of course, they accepted random testing as a condition of employment at the time of their hiring. The percentage of employees who arrive at the workplace impaired by drugs or alcohol, on the other hand, could pose an unacceptable safety risk to themselves, their fellow workers and the company they represent. In the case of oilsands workers who are under the influence, they may also present a risk to the environment and therefore, the public at large. Given those parameters, employees who have in the past exhibited signs of impairment from drugs or alcohol should be targeted by Suncor, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Total E&P Canada, the oilsands companies that on Wednesday announced their participation in a two-year pilot project that could result in the random testing of thousands of workers. The Drug and Alcohol Risk Reduction Pilot Project will begin its testing regimen as early as this fall. The point of the project, according to administrator Pat Atkins, is to provide an impetus for employees to make responsible choices. "Workers know there is a possibility of having a random test any day. If they're thinking, hmm, should I have one beer or should I have more, they're kind of thinking, you never know, there could be a test. . What we're trying to get is personal accountability." If that employee is mulling over a number of beers before work, the company that employs him does indeed have a problem, and it's likely more cultural than one of personal accountability. And that much larger picture seems to be the motivation behind Suncor's participation in the testing project. Suncor has said it will begin random tests of employees in "safety-sensitive" jobs in October in response to concerns it has discovered. "We have identified pressing workplace safety concerns in the Wood Buffalo region related to alcohol and drugs," a Suncor spokesperson told the Calgary Herald earlier this week. (Random testing) is necessary just to make sure that workers go home safely to their families at the end of shift." If Suncor has a problem with the condition of its workforce, there is a good chance that other oilsands companies have discovered the same thing. Those companies have processes in place that allow them, on a case-by-case basis, to deal with or remove individuals found to be impaired on the job. In general, they should be allowed to test those workers whose behaviour or appearance has caused concerns. But widespread testing of an entire workforce, even if prompted by reasonable suspicion that a culture of drug and alcohol use exists, is an unjust invasion of the privacy of responsible employees. The presumption of innocence ought to take precedence. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom