The Construction Labour Relations Association and the Bargaining Council of British
Columbia Building Trades Unions announced today that they have jointly developed a Substance Abuse Testing And Treatment Policy as part of their collective agreement negotiations.

The policy will apply to all union construction workers in BC; it is believed to be the only such industry-wide agreement in Canada.

According to the news release, under the policy:

• Testing can be done on employees:
  • who are involved in workplace accidents or near-misses, and
  • when there is reasonable suspicion of impairment on the job.
• Employees may also be subject to testing required by clients or project owners prior to starting work on a new project, but the policy has a voluntary testing option under which workers can be excused from such pre-access testing.
• The testing protocol is designed to test for current impairment on the job only; the objective is to ensure sobriety on the job without prying into the private after-hours activities of workers.
• The program tests for alcohol and for nine common drugs including marijuana.
• Workers who test positive under the policy cannot return to work until a doctor who specializes in substance abuse issues is satisfied the worker can return to the job site safely. The worker must also agree to continue any required treatment or counseling, and would also be subject to follow-up testing for two years.