Pubdate: Mon, 05 Dec 2016
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Page: A10

DRUG SCREENING

The wrong way to go

The Toronto Transit Commission has had five years to make a convincing
case that there is a serious drug or alcohol problem among its staff
that is putting public safety at significant risk. So far it hasn't.

But that hasn't stopped the commission from announcing last week that
it would go ahead with its misguided plan, originally approved in
2011, to randomly test thousands of transit workers for drug and
alcohol consumption with invasive mouth swabs and breathalyzer tests.

Although the TTC is right to discourage on-the-job impairment, random
screening of thousands of people is the wrong way to proceed. It would
sacrifice workers' rights to privacy on a massive scale in return for
minimal safety benefits.

Indeed, this intrusive approach, budgeted at $1.3 million for 2017, is
especially unjustified given that the TTC already subjects it
employees to extensive screening under its "fitness-for-duty" policy.
That program tests staff for drug or alcohol impairment after a
serious incident, for "reasonable cause" (such as appearing to be
drunk), if they're returning from rehab and before they are hired. It
covers all drivers, maintenance staff, anyone operating heavy
machinery, all managers responsible for those workers and TTC executives.

Despite that program and a staff of 14,000, the TTC had recorded just
six cases of impairment at work or refusal to take the test by April
of this year. (The TTC does not have more recent figures.)

Why the push? The commission's CEO, Andy Byford, is insistent on
implementing "whatever measures are available to make sure there is no
question of its employees in a safety-critical position being under
the influence of drugs or alcohol."

But according to the TTC, Windsor, Ont., is the only city in the
country that subjects its transit workers to random drug and alcohol
testing. That hasn't stopped Byford. He's lobbying the Ontario
government to make it mandatory for all public transit agencies in the
province.

To be fair, Byford says the testing program will check only for
impairment at work. The employer, for example, would not be told if
someone on a Monday morning showed traces of having smoked marijuana
on Sunday, as long as they were no longer impaired.

Still, this all seems especially perverse given the argument from
union president Bob Kinnear that sleep deprivation from long hours and
split shifts is a bigger concern for impairment than drugs and
alcohol. "They should be looking at other measures to ensure . . .
operators get the rest they need to operate a vehicle safely."

Indeed. In the meantime, the TTC should hold off on random testing
until it can actually prove that it's needed.
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MAP posted-by: Matt