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Victory for energy workers over urine drug testing

MAKING employees submit to urine tests for drug use is ''unjust and unreasonable'' as the tests can detect drug usage from the weekend which may have no bearing on a person's ability to do their job safely, according to Fair Work Australia.
The arbitrator this week ruled in favour of unions representing workers from the state-owned Endeavour Energy company, who argued that oral swabs, which generally detect drugs used only in the past few hours, should be used instead of urine tests.

Airline staff test positive to alcohol, drug tests

DOZENS of aircraft engineers, airline cabin crew, refuellers, security staff and baggage handlers have tested positive in drug and alcohol tests.
The tests were conducted by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
CASA was given the power to randomly test employees in sensitive areas of the aviation industry in September 2008.
The Advertiser applied for details of the testing under the Freedom of Information laws because CASA would only publicly release the number of random tests, not the results.
In response, CASA released documents showing 41 people had been caught, with 13 later cleared of any wrongdoing.
A CASA spokeswoman said the results should be compared with the number of tests carried out - 29,192 alcohol tests and 22,443 drug tests.
Read more: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/travel-old/airline-staff-fail-alcohol-drug-tests/story-e6frg8ro-1226358520712

20 caught in first year of drug tests


Twenty Canberrans have been caught drug-driving in the first year of roadside testing, while civil liberties groups continue to protest the zero-tolerance approach of the new laws.
Police have now used random roadside drug testing in the ACT for 12 months, conducting 761 tests since May last year.
Twenty drivers tested positive to initial saliva swabs taken on the road.

Another two truck drivers return positive drug tests

Police have this afternoon grounded a truck driver for 24 hours after he tested positive for methamphetamine.
The 35 year old semi-driver from Mildura, was stopped at about 3.30pm and drug tested on the Eyre Highway about 15kms east of Poochera.
And a 40-year old Victorian B-double driver was detected last week after he also tested positive to methamphetamine on the South Eastern Freeway near Mt Barker.
Both drivers were tested as a part of Operation Austrans a multi-jurisdictional enforcement operation to target road safety issues amongst the heavy vehicle road transport sector including fatigue, speed and drug use.
Source: http://www.sapolicenews.com.au/more-news/7968.html

Call to drug test doctors

 Australian hospitals should consider random drug testing of doctors to deter them from abusing dangerous drugs like propofol, a leading anaesthetist says.
Deputy director of anaesthesia and pain management at Canberra Hospital Lisa Zuccherelli said although it was dificult to know how many health professionals misused prescription drugs, anaesthetists, emergency physicians and psychiatrists were thought to be at particularly high risk because of their stressful jobs and constant exposure to addictive drugs.
She said surveys had shown about 1 to 2 per cent of anaesthetists abused substances, including alcohol, however the most commonly misued drugs were opioid painkillers such as morphine and fentanyl, followed by propofol - a hypnotic anaesthetic that killed Michael Jackson. There are about 5000 anaesthetists, including trainees, in Australia.

Random drug tests target Perth's top cops

WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan has been screened in a random drug and alcohol test.
PerthNow can reveal that all WA Police executives, including Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and Commanders, were subjected to the random tests yesterday in a show that the top brass are not exempt from the tough new regulations.

None returned positive tests for illicit drugs or alcohol.

In December, WA Police started drug and alcohol testing of officers, amid suspicions some may be working under the influence of booze or illicit substances.

Under the Police Force (Member Testing) Regulations (2011), all WA police officers, auxiliary officers and Aboriginal police liaison officers can be asked to provide blood, urine, oral fluid and hair samples to be tested for drugs.
Read more: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/random-drug-tests-target-perths-top-cops/story-e6frg13u-1226356590941

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