The Courier-Mail can reveal that on average about two council staff members face mandatory random drug and alcohol tests each day as part of a council-wide booze blitz targeting all staff from executives to librarians. Council introduced mandatory testing in March 2019 – as part of a new union-supported EBA – and since then some 1420 staff have been tested.“In that time there have been two positive drug tests and four positive alcohol tests,” Council Finance, Administration and Small Business Chair Adam Allan confirmed.“Five of the six employees who tested positive are no longer employed by Brisbane City Council.”The sixth, outstanding, case is currently under investigation by council.
The Courier-Mail understands another four positive tests were returned but results were consistent with declared prescription medication taken by the employee.Council staff are required to conform to drug and alcohol testing criteria as per their employment, with any employee who returns a positive test will facing disciplinary action, ranging from a formal warning, final warning to a demotion or dismissal.Council bus drivers, construction workers and traffic controllers as well as employees who handle potentially dangerous animals or substances are required to return blood alcohol readings of 0.00.Their supervisors are also held to the same standard, while the 0.05 limit applies to other workers.“Drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace is a serious safety issue,” Mr Allan said.“Council introduced drug and alcohol testing across the organisation to raise awareness of being safe and responsible in the workplace.We encourage employees to be responsible so that we can provide a safe and healthy working environment for workers and members of the publicCouncil’s drug and alcohol testing policy was developed under a 2018 industrial agreement, approved by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.Elected representatives and senior executives were not employed under the EBA.However, then Lord Mayor Graham Quirk confirmed that guidelines for random testing would also apply to all councillors as well as senior staff, saying it was the “fair and right thing to do”.
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