August 20, 2008

British Columbia construction unions and employers reach agreement on drug testing

Richard Gilbert

staff writer

Union construction workers in B.C. will be subject to a drug test if they are involved in a workplace accident, as part of a recently unveiled drug testing policy.

The Construction Labour Relations Association (CLRA) of B.C. and the Bargaining Council of British Columbia Building Trades Unions announced on August 21, 2008 that B.C.’s construction unions and their employers have developed a unique substance abuse testing and treatment policy that is the first of its kind in the country.

“This is not about firing people,” said Wayne Peppard, executive directors of the B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council.

“If someone has a drug problem and they are addicted, we have a rehabilitation program for them. Especially, when we look at recurrences, we may be looking at someone who needs help and help will be offered.”

Some contractors agree that the main aim of the policy is to improve safety for workers on the job and provide treatment and rehabilitation services for workers with substance abuse problems.

“It’s not a punitive policy,” said Mark Olsen, who is president of the Bargaining Council of BC Building Trades Unions and the business manager of the Construction and Specialized Workers Union Local 1611.

“It’s all about helping a worker rehabilitate herself or himself and get back to being a productive worker.

According to the policy document, testing will be done on employees in six different situations.

“The first is when there is an accident on the job site,” said CLRA president Clyde Scollan.

“An investigation takes place and if it is determined that drugs or alcohol are involved, there will be a test. The same applies if there is a near miss on the job or an occurrence that could lead to a serious injury or significant loss of property.”

Employees will be subject to drug testing when there is reasonable suspicion that the employee has violated the prohibition.

“A decision to require a reasonable suspicion test shall be based on observations of specific physical, behavioural or performance indicators,” said the policy document.

These observations must be made by a supervisor who has received training in the detection of possible indicators of impairment. The employee has the right to have a union representative present during the process.

Another type of testing to be conducted under this program is pre-access testing. This is when an employee is subject to the testing requirements of the client or employer in relation to their employment duties, as a condition of entering the job site.

If pre-access testing is used, the worker has the right to refuse the test, but they can’t work on the site.

Employees can be excluded from pre-access testing, if they decide to participate in voluntary testing.

To be eligible for voluntary testing, an employee must take a substance test as soon as possible. They are also subject to random or unannounced testing and periodic testing every 36 months.

The advantage of this type of testing is employees will be able to go from project to project requiring pre-access testing, without being tested before entering the job site.

If an employee tests positive or refuses a test, they may be required to take further assessment, treatment or counseling before returning to work.

If an employee tests positive and satisfies all the reinstatement requirements, they will take a test before returning to the job site and may be subject to random testing for the period of a year.

Random testing of all employees is not part of this policy, because it is not legal in Canada.

“We wanted to make sure that we were determining impairment on the job, but at the same time protecting private rights,” said Olsen. “We decided to test current impairment to do the job and not whether or not someone does drugs or not. We don’t want to pry into people’s private life.”

For example, the test for marijuana must be backed up with blood and saliva tests, because the urine test does not show current impairment.

Testing will also be done for the following substances: amphetamines, barbituates, methadone, opiates, PCP and alcohol.

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