A LIDCOMBE business has been fined $300,000 after the death of 45-year-old Mohammad Ibrahim Pakeer Mohammad nearly two years ago at a waste management facility in Arthur Street.
Harris Holdings NSW Pty Ltd director Harry Zizikas, 47, was also fined $60,000 in the Sydney District Court.
The court heard that an excavator used to sort waste at the site, moved backwards and caught Mr Mohammad's foot, knocking him down and crushing him. He was able to be freed, but died at the scene.
The Minister responsible for SafeWork NSW, Matt Kean said SafeWork took Harris Holdings and its director to court for breaching the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) by exposing the worker to a risk of death or serious injury.
Both the company and director pleaded guilty, and Mr Kean said the penalty was a warning to businesses and bosses.
"This awful death is a stark reminder of the responsibilities employers have to make sure they provide a safe workplace," he said.
"The investigation found there was no traffic management plan or exclusion zone to separate workers from the excavator and no means for sorters to communicate with the excavator operator.
"Workers had received no training on the need for an exclusion zone around the excavator and no supervisor had been appointed to enforce an exclusion zone.
"The cost of addressing this risk would have been negligible as a communication procedure could have been quickly and easily developed, and implemented.
"Instead, a vulnerable worker has lost his life in a completely preventable incident."
This article appeared in the Auburn Review
