Pubdate: Sun, 24 Apr 2016 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Page: 15 Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.torontosun.com/letter-to-editor Website: http://torontosun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457 YES TO RANDOM DRUG, ALCOHOL TESTING OF TTC STAFF From the public's perspective, testing TTC operators and managers for drugs and alcohol after there's been a serious accident doesn't do much good. Of course it's important in assigning blame and compensation for what happened, but it's the equivalent of closing the barn door after the horse has fled. The damage has been done. The real value of drug and alcohol testing lies in screening workers randomly before an accident happens, so that they do not endanger public safety. That's why we support the TTC's plan to begin random drug and alcohol testing for TTC operators and management who are responsible for rider safety. The primary purpose of random testing is not to catch and punish individual offenders, but to discourage the use of alcohol and drugs on the job by imposing a real risk of getting caught. Human nature being what it is, random testing discourages abuse because people know they could be subjected to it at any time. TTC CEO Andy Byford - who would also be subject to random testing - says a growing number of TTC employees, 36 since 2014 alone, have either failed or refused to undergo scheduled screening tests. That suggests a bigger problem. If dozens of workers are failing or refusing to take alcohol and drug tests they know in advance they have to undergo, how many more are abusing drugs or alcohol believing they won't be caught, due to the absence of random testing? Such testing should be limited to employees who are on the job or about to start work, as what they do on their own time doesn't impact public safety on the TTC. TTC employees should also be free to admit to drug and alcohol problems before they are caught, with the promise they will be sent into rehab rather than fired or otherwise disciplined. This will drive home the point that the purpose of random alcohol and drug testing is not is not to punish individuals but to reduce the risk of impaired TTC operators putting the public at risk. The manner in which the TTC now tests its employees on the job, known as its Fitness for Duty program, is already the subject of a lengthy, ongoing arbitration hearing. TTC union president Bob Kinnear says the problem isn't as serious as Byford suggests and accused him of ignoring the TTC's contract with its workers by unilaterally announcing the go-ahead of random testing. Kinnear said the union will be considering its legal options which could include a court challenge. Be that as it may, it's time for the TTC to move ahead with random drug and alcohol testing and for the provincial government to make it mandatory for public transit agencies. The only real question, from the point of view of public safety, is why it wasn't done years ago. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D