They don’t have mandatory drug and alcohol testing?
June 9th, 2008
The Toronto Transit Commission is considering mandatory drug and alcohol testing for it’s workers after the death of a subway working in April of 2007. This is a move that some are calling “highly controversial”
Personally I call it UTTERLY LUDICROUS!
How can something that takes so many lives in to it’s hands daily even consider NOT having mandatory drug and alcohol screening for it’s workers?
Just last week on Tuesday June 3rd the passengers of a TTC buss called police because they suspected that their driver was under the influence. Upon being pulled over the driver a 48 year old male was charged with one count of driving over the legal limit. Is this something that’s acceptable in our community? Drinking and driving is never okay but it’s especially ridiculous when you are carrying 100’s of passengers within a shift all over a city!
A TTC spokesman said that the union deals with about six cases a year of alcohol or drugs on the job from within 9,000 members. I say that’s six too many!
1.5 million people ride the TTC every day. 1.5 million. If one of the many TTC workers is impaired how many of those people are in danger?
Mandatory drug testing is sometimes considered discriminatory under the Canadian Human Rights Commission guidelines unless it’s in “safety-critical” occupations. Trucking is considered to be one of the “safety-critical” occupations. Yeah hauling blue jeans along the 401 is “safety-critical” but hauling myself, all my friends, and the elderly and young of Toronto isn’t “safety-critical”.
It is ILLEGAL to drive under the influence. When your job is driving, how can it possibly be considered “an infringement on my human rights” to ensure drinking and drugs are not being done while on the job?