Australia: Union wins drug test concessions
An Australian construction union has negotiated major concessions on a random drug testing policy introduced by oil giant Shell. CFMEU described the deal, which prohibits urine tests, as a “significant decision in protecting employees’ privacy and improving drug and alcohol testing standards throughout the workforce.”
CFMEU news release • Sydney Morning Herald • Risks 408
Hazards news, 30 May 2009

Britain: Drug tests used to jettison staff
Employers are increasingly using drug testing to get rid of staff without having to make redundancy payouts, a drugs and human rights charity has said. Release has reported a four-fold increase in calls to its drugs team about problems with workplace testing in the first three months of 2009 compared with the same period last year.
The Guardian • Hazards drugs webpages • Risks 407
Hazards news, 23 May 2009

Britain: Rugby star cleared of asthma drugs charge
A professional rugby player who tested positive for his asthma medication has fought off a ban threat with the help of his union. GMB member Ian Sibbit, a second-row forward with Salford City Reds, found himself facing drug misuse charges after an independent drugs test last year showed high levels of the asthma drug salbutamol in his system.
GMB news release • Manchester Evening News • BBC News Online • Risks 398
Hazards news, 21 March 2009

Britain: Alarm over sea breath test plans  
Seafarers’ union Nautilus UK has warned that international drug and alcohol testing proposals could turn shipmasters into “onboard police officers” carrying out the tests. The concerns, raised jointly with industry organisation the Chamber of Shipping, were prompted by proposals tabled at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Nautilus UK news release • Risks 391
Hazards news, 31 January 2009

Australia: Union alarm at Qantas testing push
An airline union has warned that Qantas is using new regulations as a “smokescreen” to introduce a draconian drug and alcohol testing policy. The Australian Services Union (ASU) says “there is no real evidence of a culture of drug and alcohol abuse at Qantas and the unions believe that many of these changes represent an unwarranted intrusion into your private lives.”
ASU news release • Risks 386
Hazards news, 13 December 2008

USA: Unions criticise mines drug test plan
US unions have criticised proposed federal rules to expand drug testing to include more than 116,000 coal miners, declaring them a “distraction” from serious safety problems and asking for sweeping changes to the proposal or for it to be dropped.
Washington Post • Herald Dispatch • Union responses to drug testing at work • Risks 378
Hazards news, 18 October 2009

Australia: Concern at paramedic drug exposures
An Australian ambulance union is calling for a commonly used pain killer to be assessed for potential risks to paramedics. Ambulance Employees Australia state secretary Steve McGhie said he had written to Ambulance Victoria asking for a risk assessment into penthrane, which it says has been banned in America due to concerns it may be carcinogenic, and it is also no longer used by West Australian paramedics.
Risks 373
Hazards, 13 September 2008

Britain: Firm pays after unfair alcohol sacking
Northeast Press has been ordered by an employment tribunal to pay an award of more than £20,000 after unfairly sacking a senior journalist with a drink problem. Journalists’ union NUJ, who backed senior sub-editor Paul Gray’s tribunal case, says it highlights the importance of employers fully implementing their alcohol and drugs policies.
Hazards guidance on drugs and alcohol policies • Risks 366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008

Britain: Job applicants facing more drug tests
More companies are checking on potential employees by carrying out drug and alcohol tests on their hair, according to a supplier of testing products. Trimega Laboratories managing director Avi Lasarow said: “More and more corporates employing high-profile executives are looking to test potential employees.”
Impaired thinking: The case for workplace drug and alcohol tests has no substance, Hazards, number 100, October-December 2007 • Risks 343
Hazards news, 16 February 2008

Britain: Amazon lied about drug test
Internet giant Amazon wrongly branded a worker a druggie and fired him, an employment tribunal has heard. Khalid Elkhader was awarded £3,453 in compensation after managers at the firm’s west of Scotland facility told him he had tested positive for amphetamine and fired him – however, he was told a second negative test was positive.
Greenock Telegraph • Impaired thinking: The case for workplace drug and alcohol testing has no substance, Hazards magazine, number 100, 2007
Hazards news, 8 December 2007

Britain: TUC says sort out work hazards not workers
Many employers have a healthier appetite for addressing their employees’ diet, exercise and smoking habits than addressing the work-related causes of ill-health, the TUC has said. In a TUC submission to Dame Carol Black’s review of the health of the working age population, the TUC says employers’ attempts to encourage healthy living are most effective when they look at how work can contribute to or cause lifestyle problems and warns against employers moralising over lifestyle issues, like drug and alcohol use.
TUC news release and full response to the consultation • More on the union approach to work and health issues
Hazards news, 1 December 2007

Britain: Impaired thinking on work drugs tests
Britain’s employers have a big drug and alcohol problem – they are wasting millions on testing and firing workers. A new report in the trade union health and safety journal Hazards says employer support and a healthier working environment would provide a cheaper and more effective resolution to ‘impairment’ problems.
Impaired thinking: The case for workplace drug and alcohol tests has no substance, Hazards, number 100, October-December 2007 • Hazards drug and alcohol and workplace testing webpages
Hazards news, 17 November 2007

Britain: Firms urged to give substance misuse support
Firms must do more to help staff struggling with drink and drug misuse problems, a new report has recommended. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) employer relations adviser, Ben Willmott, said the firms that helped their staff had a good success rate in getting them back to work - with 60 per cent staying with the company after overcoming problems, but only half of the employers quizzed gave access to counselling for workers fighting dependencies on drink or drugs, with just 38 per cent offering coordinated rehabilitation.
CIPD Managing drugs and alcohol misuse at work • People Management magazine • Hazards drugs and alcohol news and resources
Hazards news, 22 September 2007

Britain: Workers living in fear under 'brutal' Amazon
Amazon workers are living in fear of heavy-handed bosses, a Scottish employment expert has warned. Jim McCourt has spoken out about the random body searches and ongoing drug tests he says are commonplace in the factory which ships out books, CDs and DVDs across Scotland.
Greenock Telegraph • Hazards news and resources on workplace drug tests and other work privacy issues
Hazards news, 28 July 2007

Canada: Union body says no to drug and booze tests
Unions should oppose mandatory drug and alcohol testing, a top Canadian union body has said. The call came in a new policy statement from the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), the province’s largest union body, which says testing does not improve safety performance but does impinge on workers’ rights.
Risks 281, 4 November 2006 • AFL news release. Workplace drug and alcohol policy statement, AFL, October 2006 [pdf]

Britain: Stressed workers 'turning to drink'
A growing number of workers are turning to drink to help cope with the effects of work-related stress, according to new research.
Risks 261, 17 June 2006

New Zealand: Meat company films naked workers
A New Zealand meat company is defending its use of covert filming in staff shower rooms, claiming it is the only way to catch employees taking drugs. Unions at Affco says drugs say they are dismayed at the practice.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005

Finland
New law restricts workplace drug tests
Unions in Finland have welcomed new regulations on workplace drug tests that on 1 October placed strict limitations on the use of drug tests at work. The unions say the first role of the new law is the protection of worker privacy.
Risks 177, 9 October 2004

Britain
Firms want clear guidelines on workplace drug testing
Few UK companies carry out any form of drug testing in the workplace, but two-thirds want clearer guidelines on the issue, a new survey claims. Law firm Blake Lapthorn Linnell found just 10 per cent of the respondents to its survey actually carried out any form of drug testing and most of these were overwhelmingly of the opinion that drug use was not an issue for their organisation (75 per cent).
Risks 173, 11 September 2004

Global
Unions respond to push for work drug tests
Unions are being called into action as employers worldwide try to impose drug tests as an alternative to better workplace support and safety standards.
Risks 171, 28 August 2004

Britain
BA staff to face drink and drugs tests
A new British Airways policy introducing workplace drink and drugs tests has taken effect. The policy had been the subject of a lengthy battle with unions, who argued that tests were intrusive and did not work as well as peer-to-peer support.
Risks 168, 7 August 2004

USA
Failure to give urine means you're out
Thousands of workers with "Shy Bladder Syndrome" are facing the sack because they can't produce a urine sample on demand for workplace drugs tests.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain TUC view vindicated in drug tests report
An independent report has backed the TUC line that almost all workplace drug tests are a costly and damaging waste of time. The report of the Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work following an 18-month investigation and concluded drug tests were a gross infringement on personal liberty, could have only a "limited impact on safety and performance" and that testing was a "costly and divisive" way of managing employees, and was an "inappropriate use of managerial power".

The TUC gave evidence to the inquiry and was represented on its steering group. Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, said: "The increased use of drug testing at work will boost the profits of companies peddling testing regimes but will do nothing for the productivity, safety or profitability of UK companies." He added: "The TUC believes that testing is only appropriate for staff in safety critical posts and should be part of a comprehensive safety strategy that includes support for staff who test positive, and the report supports this position. The government should adopt the report's recommendations by issuing clear guidance to business on drug testing at work and its practical and legal limits, as well introducing an accreditation system for testing companies."

The inquiry report warns that workplace tests could "increase dramatically and become a fact of everyday working life." A poll for the inquiry found 78 per cent of employers would consider tests if they though drug and alcohol use was affecting productivity.

TUC news release • DrugScope news release • Drug testing in the workplace, Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work, free online or as a paperback for £15.95 plus £2 postage and packing.

Britain
BA crew face drug and alcohol tests
British Airways is to test its 47,000 staff for drugs and alcohol, under a contentious new policy. It believes it is the first airline in Europe to introduce its own on-the-spot tests, in a policy which follows a four-year wrangle with unions.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Working-while-sober sackings upheld
Six Tube workers who were sacked after empty beer cans were found in a mess room have lost their unfair dismissal case. The sackings under a "zero tolerance" policy were upheld despite tests finding none of the workers were positive for drugs or alcohol.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Australia
Rail unions condemn "beer nannies"
Management at RailCorp in Australia has ordered supervisors to monitor the alcohol intake of workers out of hours in a move unions say shows drug and alcohol testing is off the rails.
Risks 160, 12 June 2004

New Zealand
Unions need right to challenge drug tests
Union leader Andrew Little says employees should watch out for employers trying to adopt random drug testing on a point of principle when they should be limited to "safety sensitive" jobs. The EPMU national secretary said: "The question of what is safety sensitive seems to have been left by the court to management's prerogative."
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

New Zealand
Court limits work drug tests scope
New Zealand's largest union says it is to put all workplace drug testing regimes under close scrutiny in the wake of a landmark court decision. The Employment Court ruled that Air New Zealand may not impose random tests for drugs or alcohol across its workforce, but may introduce them in "safety sensitive areas."
Risks 152, 17 April 2004

Britain
Pilots call for peer support for alcohol problems
Pilot's union BALPA has said workers with alcohol problems should be given support, not the sack. A peer intervention scheme wojld enable any pilot who has a problem to obtain support from a trained BALPA representative and would neither lose their job nor seniority.
Risks 151, 10 April 2004

Britain
Salvage company to breath test staff every morning
A Scottish company is to breath test its staff before they are allowed to start work. The move by property salvage specialists FFDR has been welcomed by a business group but has been criticised by civil liberties groups, who claim this will be the first step towards a Big Brother-style workplace.
Risks 149, 27 March 2004

Britain
Workers driven to drink by bad jobs
Undervalued and overworked employees are being driven to drink by their bad jobs, new research shows. The findings, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, are based on a study of 8,000 British civil servants.
Risks 146, 6 March 2004

Britain
Tube staff to strike in sober sackings row
London Underground workers are to stage a one-day strike in a row over the sacking of sober maintenance staff under a "zero tolerance" alcohol policy.
Risks 146, 6 March 2004

Britain
Strike ballot over Tube working-while-sober sackings
Tube maintenance workers are being balloted on possible industrial action in support of workmates who were sacked after empty beer cans were found in their mess room.
Risks 144, 21 February 2004

Britain
RMT action call in working-while-sober sackings
Rail union RMT is to hold a strike ballot over the dismissal of five Metronet Tube maintenance workers, fired after empty beer cans were found in a cabin. RMT says the "Farringdon Five" were randomly selected for the chop - all five had negative drug and alcohol tests.
Risks 141, 31 January 2004

Britain
Stressed pilots driven to drink
Airline pilots driven to drink by soaring workplace stress need support, not the sack, say experts. Pilots' union BALPA says there should be a system where any pilot can try and persuade another to go to a neutral board where they don't lose their job but get help."
Risks 138, 10 January 2004

AUSTRALIA
Union takes on "punitive" drugs policies
An Australian union says its members will not stand for "punitive" drug and alcohol policies. AWU national secretary Bill Shorten said: "Too many companies have implemented drug and alcohol testing policies that are punitive rather than educative and may drive the very few workers in our society with problems underground."
Risks 136, 13 December 2003

BRITAIN
Workplace snoopers face legal clampdown
The growing employer taste for drug and alcohol tests, genetic screening and snooping into personal medical histories could be ruled out of order by the government. Information Commissioner Richard Thomas says the latest phase of the consultation on the Employment Practices Data Protection Code will cover information about workers' health - and a draft of the code would severely restrict the circumstances in which employers could use drug, alcohol or gene tests or access medical records.
Risks 135, 6 December 2003

BRITAIN
Sober workers fired under "zero tolerance" policy
Five maintenance workers cleared by tests of any drug or alcohol use have been fired after facing what their union warned would be a "kangaroo court." The rail union RMT says there could be industrial action after the workers were sacked over the discovery of empty alcohol cans and bottles in a mess room.
Risks 135, 6 December 2003

BRITAIN
Just say no… to drug and alcohol tests
A TUC-backed report is warning that the law does not give workers sufficient protection against the increasing use of unjustified and degrading drink and drug testing at work. The "Testing times" report, published in the latest issue of the TUC backed Hazards magazine, asked UK unions if they had experienced problems with workplace drug testing and discovered serious concerns ranging from "chain of custody" of samples, to the use of drugs tests to harass "troublesome" workers.
Risks 134, 29 November 2003 • See: Hazards testing times webpage

AUSTRALIA
Ruling upholds drug testing at work
A West Australia company's move to implement a "fitness for duty" policy which involves testing for the presence of drugs irrespective of any impairment has been upheld by the WA Industrial Relations Commission. Senior Commissioner Andrew Beech declared that it was reasonable for Pioneer Construction Materials to conduct urine tests on its employees. The policy had been challenged by unions, who threatened to walk off the job if tests were introduced.
Risks 133, 22 November 2003

NEW ZEALAND
Airline drugs tests unlawful, say unions
A legal challenge to Air New Zealand's plans to drugs test its workers has reached the courts. Six unions, led by the EPMU, say the airline has no legal right to test its 10,000 employees for traces of drugs or alcohol and wants the court to issue permanent injunctions preventing Air New Zealand from implementing the policy, and a precedent-setting declaration that the proposed policy was unlawful and unreasonable.
Risks 127, 11 October 2003

BRITAIN
Critics wide-eyed at drug tests cheek
A UK company is pushing a new gizmo it says will tell bosses if workers are under the influence of drugs or drink. Hampton Knight, the firm distributing the £10,000 US-built portable eye scanner, told business leaders the device is able to tell if employees have taken anything from alcohol and cannabis to hard drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or heroin.
Risks 126, 4 October 2003

BRITAIN
Police officers may face random drugs tests
The government is to reconsider introducing random drug tests for police officers in England and Wales. The Police Federation, the organisation representing frontline police officers, is opposed to the idea.
Risks 123, 13 September 2003

BRITAIN
Teachers use drink and drugs for stress
Teachers and other school staff are turning to anti-depressants and alcohol to cope with rising stress levels. The findings came in response to a Wrexham council survey, undertaken after concerns were raised by the Health and Safety Executive.
Risks 122, 6 September 2003 • Hazards guide to sensible drugs and alcohol policies

AUSTRALIA
Unions want a role in substance use at work
Unions in Australia are warning that workplace drugs and alcohol policies should be introduced only in consultation with unions. The New South Wales Labor Council says its submission to an official "alcohol summit" in the state will raise concerns about employers unilaterally imposing policies, ignoring guidance agreed by unions, police and official safety and health agencies.
Risks 121, 30 August 2003

GLOBAL
Drug testing plans backfire on bosses
Attempts by airlines to force through mandatory drug tests are facing stiff union resistance. Qantas union AMWU has said the tests are an unacceptable breach of privacy, don’t work and are a diversion from real safety concerns. And unions in New Zealand say if New Zealand Air is really concerned about "impairment," that is what it should test for - and should clampdown on the fatigue and other work factors that are a far more likely cause.
Risks 120, 23 August 2003

AUSTRALIA
Unions just say no… to drugs tests
Australian employers are finding they are testing workers’ patience as they attempt to railroad mandatory drug testing a work. Thousands of Qantas workers at mass meetings this week resolved not to participate in the airline’s drug testing proposals.
Risks 118, 9 August 2003

AUSTRALIA
The drug tests don’t work, they make it worse
Punitive workplace drug and alcohol testing regimes are unfair and self-defeating, according to a top pharmacologist. Expert witness Dr Judith Perl told a transport industry forum in Sydney that punishment based on random drug testing will do nothing to make workplaces safer and will lead "to many, many mistakes."
Risks 116, 26 July 2003

BRITAIN
Move towards work drug testing
Four out of five employers would be prepared to drug test their employees if they thought productivity was at stake, a survey found. The research for the Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work found that very few firms at present test their workers for banned substances.
Risks 116, 26 July 2003

NEW ZEALAND
Unions file claims in drugs test case
Six aviation industry unions have lodged papers with the Employment Court opposing a drug and alcohol-testing regime proposed by Air New Zealand. The unions, headed by EPMU, say the company has no lawful right to demand urine or breath samples at any time from its 10,000 staff.
Risks 115, 19 July 2003

AUSTRALIA
Qantas unions say no to testing
Unions at the Australian airline Qantas have told the company to "get serious about safety" and want it to wean itself off its obsession with alcohol and drug tests. National union federation ACTU and 10 Qantas unions say there is no place at work for people "impaired" by drugs or alcohol, but says the proposed alcohol and drug policy will not make the workplace safer.
Risks 115, 19 July 2003

NEW ZEALAND
Unions challenge airline drugs tests
An airline’s plans to randomly test its employees for drugs and alcohol are being challenged in a union test case. A group of six unions have won the right to have their case against Air New Zealand considered at a special judicial hearing in October.
Risks 114, 12 July 2003

BRITAIN
Rig union condemns blanket drugs tests
Blanket drugs tests on 350 North Sea rig workers have been condemned by their union, Amicus-AEEU. American firm Apache began the urine tests on workers after a parcel of amphetamines was allegedly found heading for one of its platforms in the Forties fields.
Risks 101, 12 April 2003

BRITAIN
Employers have bad drug and alcohol habits
Only half of all managers believe their organisation has or is developing a policy on drugs and alcohol, according to a new study. Despite this, over half support random drug and alcohol testing at work and over a quarter back instant dismissal after a positive drug test.
Risks 100, 5 April 2003

BRITAIN
Drink and work - a potent cocktail
People are drinking more now than ever before, but too few employers have alcohol policies in place or are dealing with the underlying causes including stress and overwork, a TUC report has warned.
Risks 94, 22 February 2003

AUSTRALIA
Unions fight random alcohol testing
Unions are fighting a plan by Australian defence contractor Tenix to introduce an "intolerant" random alcohol testing policy. The company wants to impose tough penalties for workers found to have a blood alcohol reading above 0.02, a quarter the UK drink-drive limit.
Risks 93, 15 February 2003

USA
Injured worker drug and alcohol tests "illegal" says court
The Ohio Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a law that allows employers to give drug or alcohol tests to people injured at work. The ruling struck down a portion of Ohio's compensation law that made it possible for employers to deny workers' compensation to employees who refuse to take a drug or alcohol tests after a workplace injury.
Risks 88, 11 January 2003