Recommendation Date
Recipient Name
NZ Rail
Text
Review the adequacy of existing procedures for assessing fitness for duty for Locomotive Engineers and Train Control Officers.
Reply Text
The focus of the recommendation does not reflect the findings established during the investigation. Responsibility for fitness for duty rests with both the employee and the employer. The recommendation should be reworded as follows: "NZ Rail to reinforce to all its employees the need to communicate with supervisors or managers when the individual considers that they are unfit to either commence duty or complete their current shift". As an additional comment NZ Rail is currently in consultation and working through with our employee representatives a new Drug and Alcohol policy which is planned to be implemented in the next three months. Even in this form, the recommendation is somewhat superfluous. It merely presents NZ Rail's current practices.
Related Investigation(s)