July 9, 2012
Province Advises Business Prosecuted for Workplace Incident
– – –Company Fined Almost $50,000
Manitoba Family Services and Labour advises that it wants employers to be aware that it is their role to ensure workplaces are safe and employees receive proper training. When a workplace incident occurs, Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health investigates and can recommend prosecution if it is determined the employer did not have appropriate safeguards in place or employees had not been properly trained.
On Sept. 18, 2010, a 15-year-old worker at ShellMark Farms in Carberry was injured on the job. The worker tried to straddle a moving conveyor belt and fell. The belt pulled the worker under a metal brace for the conveyor’s electric motor, leading to a number of broken bones and internal injuries. The company failed to provide a system for workers to safely access either side of the conveyor belt.
On June 28, 2012, the employer pled guilty to charges of failing to ensure that a worker utilized procedures for working in close proximity to a conveyor (under section 4(1)(A) of the Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act).
The company received a fine of $48,050.
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