Companies who breach the health and safety laws by contributing to an offence and employees who report for work in an intoxicated condition will be the subject of penalties under proposed new laws.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004 published yesterday provides for on the spot fines, maximum penalties of up to €3 million and prison terms of up to two years for breaches of the law.
Under the Bill, company directors and managers may be held liable in circumstances where they are found to have contributed to an offence and they may be prosecuted. Also, employees will be guilty of an offence if they report for work in an intoxicated condition. They may be subjected to testing by their employers to ensure compliance.
However, yesterday in a statement the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) expressed concern that the onus would be put on employers to test employees for alcohol or drugs.
"Employers cannot be expected to carry out random checks on employees to establish if they have excessive drugs or alcohol in their system," it stated.
The Minister of State for Labour Affairs, Mr Frank Fahey, announcing the Bill's publication said it was right that the development of a modern industry and infrastructure should be accompanied by a modern set of rules and laws governing the obligations of employers and employees in ensuring safety in the work place.
"Even one death or serious injury in the workplace is one death or serious injury too many," the Minister said.
The CIF said while it welcomed the responsibility on employees not to be under the influence of an intoxicant, the Health and Safety Authority was not in a position to police it.