Employee
drug testing is mandatory at mining sites but
debate continues over oral and urine drug tests. Legal parameters are being
defined as employers and unions seek arbitration over screening tests. A recent
ruling has backed a mining contractor over its use of urine tests.
A recent
decision by Fair Work Australia has found mining contractor HWE is entitled to
take urine samples for drug testing
despite union opposition.
The
ruling was handed down on November 30, 2011, after protests by the
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union that HWE should use saliva drug
tests for its onsite drug
testing.
Unions
have traditionally favoured oral tests, claiming the method is less intrusive
and better protects workers’ privacy. In the case before Fair Work the CFMEU
argued that the psychoactive compound in cannabis – THC – showed up on urine drug test even days after use,
when it was not likely to cause impairment. It argued that HWE had agreed to
use saliva
drug test upon an Australian Standard being reached.
Fair
Work found that while this standard (AS4760) had been put in place (since 2006)
there was still “compelling rational reasons for regarding saliva testing as
less effective than urine testing”.
“In a
practical sense the dispute is ultimately about an intrusion into employees’
privacy and whether employees who consume cannabis privately while on an
extended break from work should be exposed to a risk of a positive urine
screening test when there is no prospect that they remain impaired when they
return to work,” Fair Work said in its ruling.
It found
HWE was “eminently reasonable” in its decision not to change to oral drug
testing.
“Impairment
by drugs or alcohol is an important safety issue at coal mines,” Fair Work
said.
“The
nature of the mining process and the plant and equipment used in mining is such
that employees who are impaired by drugs or alcohol present a substantial
safety risk to themselves and others that must be controlled.
“There
are very onerous statutory occupational health and safety obligations imposed
on employers in New South Wales…
The use of on-site screening rather than laboratory screening is well justified
by HWE’s concern that the delay between the taking of a sample and obtaining
the results of a laboratory test may lead to employees who are actually
impaired working on dangerous equipment when that would not occur if an
effective on-site screening test had been used.”
Leading
Australian alcohol and drug test
equipment suppliers CMM Technology said rulings such as the Fair Work
decision demonstrated the challenges facing employers, particularly in
high-risk sectors such as mining.
Director
Murray Simon said the choice between oral and urine
drug test was difficult as both had advantages and limitations.
He said
the cost of drug testing as well as
company requirements and policies were considerations. “Every workplace will
have different needs but safety always has to be the priority,” he said.
