Otago Port staff tested positive for meth. Photo / Getty Images
Otago Port staff tested positive for meth. Photo / Getty Images
A series of positive methamphetamine tests among Port Otago workers operating heavy machinery may trigger a crackdown from the company.
Five people have tested positive for use of the drug at the port in the last three months.
Chief executive Kevin Winders said each case resulted in a process throughits drug policy involving aspects of rehabilitation and mediation.
However, all of the staff have been dismissed.
"These are team members driving 60-tonne straddles. Their levels have been impaired. Driving a 60-tonne machine, taking a Class A drug, clearly that is serious misconduct."
The positive test results for the drug were unusual and a "concerning and alarming" trend.
All of the company's 325 employees could be randomly tested, but infringements tended to occur at the container area at Port Chalmers, where about 150 people worked.
The company initiated drug tests after incidents, before employment and also randomly tested about one staff member per day.
`We'll be reviewing what some of the other businesses do. We'll see what is a better mix for us."
New Zealand Drug Foundation programmes manager Nathan Brown said it favoured education of managers and supervisors to notice impaired behaviour and intervene, rather than the use of drug tests.
"They are detection tests mostly, which is different to impairment tests like we have with alcohol."
This could result in "moral judgement rather than protecting the workplace".
"There's limited evidence drug tests reduce the number of workplace incidents."
