Death knell for urine testing in the workplace

Fair Work Australia has ruled against urine testing.  

The arbitrator has ruled in favour of trade unions, which had argued the state-owned Endeavour Energy should use oral swabs for testing instead. 

The arbitrator has ruled in favour of trade unions, which had argued the state-owned Endeavour Energy should use oral swabs for testing instead.    

Scott McNamara, from the United Services Union, says Fair Work Australia found urine testing was invasive and unjust.     

"The tribunal took a view that drug testing is not for social monitoring. Drug testing is to seek if you are fit for work, and that gets down to workplace safety," he said.     

"What people do on the weekend does not necessarily have a bearing on what they do during the day. It's similar to alcohol consumption."     

Is now the time to throw away your old Wizzinator? 

The Original Whizzinator     was a product intended to fraudulently defeat drug tests. The Whizzinator came as a kit complete with dried urine and syringe, heater packs  (to keep the urine at body temperature), a false penis (available in several skin tones including white, tan, latino, brown, and black) and instruction manual. The company also offered a female version of the Whizzinator, called "Number One." There is no information on exactly how this product differs from the "disposable unisex" product also on the market. It was manufactured by Puck Technology of California.         

On October 14, 2008, federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh won a 19-count indictment against Puck Technology, maker of the Whizzinator, and its owners for fraud and selling drug paraphernalia.     

But sport is different. 

A national survey in 2012 has found more than half of Australians believe the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport should be treated as a criminal matter.   

The joint research project by Canberra and Griffith Universities surveyed 2,500 people aged over 18 about their opinions on drugs in sport..

Around 80 per cent of the people surveyed also said they think positive drug tests should be made public.    

Over 50 per cent of our respondents believe that performance enhancing drug use should be criminalised, and investigations should be conducted by police officers, instead of sporting bodies."