Intrusive and Undignified Drug and Alcohol Testing

Drugs and alcohol testing is an important part of rail safety, but too often policies on drugs and alcohol are being used for other purposes.

In particular, rail workers who are not suffering from any impairment can be targeted by unscrupulous employers looking to get around fair work laws.

Taking saliva swabs is proven to be an effective way to test for drug and alcohol impairment – and these are already being used in some states. Urine samples, on the other hand, are intrusive and do not test for genuine impairment.

The proposed legislation will enshrine random urine testing, which is unfair and intrusive, and does not address the core issue of rail safety.

The RTBU believes that we must have a robust system of testing for genuine drug and alcohol impairment that’s fair and respects the privacy and dignity of employees.

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