Released on May 20, 2016
On May 16, 2016, Lafarge Canada Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario pleaded guilty in Saskatoon Provincial Court to one count under occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation.The company pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to ensure that any worker who is required or permitted to assemble, use, maintain or dismantle rigging is trained in safe rigging practices. The company was fined $10,000 plus a $4,000 surcharge. Two other charges were withdrawn.
Charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on January 14, 2014, where a worker was injured when the boom of a track hoe hit a catwalk guardrail causing the worker to fall six metres (20 feet). Lack of proper safety training is one of the most common reasons workers are injured or killed on the job.
Under OHS legislation, employers must provide workers with all training required to perform the task. Workers must show that they have learned the information required to do a task safely, as well as demonstrate the acquired skills. Employers are also required to retain copies of all worker training certificates.
WorkSafe Saskatchewan hosts a series of occupational health and safety classroom and online training sessions. For more information, visit www.worksafesask.ca/training.
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For more information, contact:
Laura McKnight
Labour Relations and Workplace Safety
Regina
Phone: 306-787-0355
Email: laura.mcknight@gov.sk.ca