Drug testing has been making steady inroads into Irish workplaces over the past decade or so. However, most of it is still confined to pre-employment screening and legal questions remain over random mandatory testing, which is confined to the Defence Forces and Dublin's LUAS new light rail operation, as well as some private sector organisations.
Legislation providing for random testing for intoxicants is being proposed for Irish rail workers in spring 2004, though trade unions believe that it is unconstitutional. Such testing is already in place for military personnel and workers employed by Dublin’s new tram system, LUAS.
Drug testing has been making steady inroads into Irish workplaces over the past decade or so. However, most of it is still confined to pre-employment screening and legal questions remain over random mandatory testing, which is confined to the Defence Forces and Dublin's LUAS new light rail operation, as well as some private sector organisations.
Random mandatory testing of railway employees for drugs and alcohol formed part of a Railway Safety Bill when it was first published in 2001. While the Minister responsible for Transport, Mary O’Rourke, dropped the plan to include testing at the time, it was later reinserted into the proposed legislation by the current Minister, Seamus Brennan.
The secretary of the rail services division of the Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU), Tony Tobin, told a conference organised by his union in April 2004 that he believed mandatory random testing 'will prove to be unconstitutional'. Minister Brennan, however, countered that the wording of the relevant section came as a result of consultations between the Department of Transport and the Attorney General. He said that 'our advice is that this section is fully constitutional and fully in accordance with the principles of law'.
The Irish Defence Forces have been carrying out mandatory random testing since 2002, with 10% of personnel tested every year (IE0301202N). Around 1,400 military personnel have been tested since the system was introduced, with just four positive results.
Meanwhile, the pre-employment agreement between SIPTU and Connex, the operator of Dublin’s new LUAS tram service (IE0311202N), provides for random testing. Cooperation with such testing is a condition of employment and the testing is to be done on 'a random, fair basis, with proper respect for the employee’s privacy and rights'.
The current Railway Safety Bill also requires a rail operator to set up a code of practice governing the drug testing system, which is subject to review by a new Commission for rail safety. The alcohol limit would be set at the same level as for motorists, and the categories subject to testing would include drivers, guards, conductors, signalling staff or any other group capable of affecting the movement of a train. This would include anyone involved in the maintenance of trains, track, signals or electrical supply, as well as those responsible for coupling or uncoupling trains.
A laboratory that carries out drug testing for private sector employers recently told the independent weekly magazine, Industrial Relations News (IRN) that over 90% of this work is for pre-employment screening. However, there is a small but growing number of employers in the private sector that test workers in employment, particularly in safety-sensitive areas such as transport and mining.
Eurofound doporučuje citovat tuto publikaci následujícím způsobem.
Eurofound (2004), Drug testing proposed for rail staff, article.
