Labour hire company fined $30,000 fined over farm death
Issue Date: - Friday, 21 May 2010
A Perth labour hire company has been fined $30,000 over the death of a farm worker in November 2008.
Seatown Holdings Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the provision of a safe workplace as a labour hire provider and, by that failure, causing the death of an employee, and was fined in the Perth Magistrates Court last week.
In November 2008, the man was working alone at a grain growing farm near Miling, riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) on the client’s farm when he rode into a wire gate. He was found lying on the road the next morning by a truck driver.
The man had not been wearing a helmet. He suffered serious head injuries and died in hospital two days after the incident.
WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today that the case should serve as a reminder that labour hire companies had a responsibility to ensure workplaces were safe.
“Labour hire companies have an obligation to ensure the workplaces in which they place workers are safe and healthy, something that clearly did not happen in this case,” Ms Lyhne said.
“The court heard that the workers on the farm involved were riding the ATV without wearing helmets as a matter of course, and that the wire gate was difficult to see.
“There had even been a previous incident in which someone had driven into a wire gate. The gate supports had been painted to make them more visible after the previous incident, but they had faded over time.
“The labour hire company that supplied the worker had not visited the farm at any time during the six months the man had been working there to check for hazards, identify risks and consider control measures.
“As a result, the company had no idea that the worker had not been provided with a helmet or that there had been a previous incident involving an unseen gate.
“The fact that the injured worker was not found until the next day should also serve as a reminder that workplaces must have procedures in place for remaining in contact with employees who are working alone, especially in more remote locations.
“Labour hire companies should be aware of the responsibilities they have in ensuring that host workplaces are safe for the labour they send to them.”
Further information on workplace safety and health under labour hire arrangements can be obtained by telephoning WorkSafe on 9327 8777 or on the website at www.worksafe.wa.gov.au
Media contact: Caroline De Vaney 9327 8744 or 9408 927563 (media enquiries only).