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Workplace Drug Testing - Policy Talk

Workplace drug testing

 PolicyTalk provides an overview of topical debates to help senior policy makers find the right solutions for the community on alcohol and other drug issues.

No one objects to the breath testing of automobile drivers to ensure their performance is not impaired by high concentrations of alcohol. Similarly, people who are engaged in safety critical work in occupations such as transport, or by the use of heavy machinery, may also expect to undergo drug testing to reduce the risk of harm to themselves and others.
Yet in other contexts workplace drug testing is far more controversial. The debate about drug testing employees can involve considerations of individual privacy, the financial cost to employers of testing, the efficacy of testing, and the workforce’s response to testing.
This latest edition of PolicyTalk by Donna Bull, consultant to the Australian Defence Force and the Australian and International Pilots Association, submits the issue of drug testing in the workplace to analysis. It reviews what is known of the prevalence of drug use by members of the workforce, (although such drug use does not necessarily occur in work time); it outlines the history of and the case for workplace testing; reports on problems encountered in testing of employees; and provides alternative ways of preventing drug related harm in the workplace.
I am confident that this PolicyTalk will be of great interest and benefit to everyone who is concerned to reduce alcohol and other drug problems in Australia and I hope you will let us know of your opinion.


Download it here.

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