Fine for Death a ‘Speeding Ticket’: AWU

A glass manufacturer has been fined $310,000 over the death of a 40-year-old employee, which the AWU says is the equivalent of a "corporate speeding ticket".

Pilkington employee Hung Nguyen Huu was crushed by eight tonnes of class when it fell off a forklift at a Dandenong factory in 2001.

The company pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court for two counts of failing to provide a safe working environment.

Judge Michael Bourke found the method used to secure and move glass at the site had placed Huu at "dire risk".

Though it's Victoria's third largest fine imposed on a company for breaching safety laws in Victoria, the Australian Workers Union says the penalty is inadequate.

"In terms of Pilkington's global budget, it amounts to a corporate speeding fine," AWU National Secretary Bill Shorten said.

"Compare it to the penalty Mr Huu has paid for the company's negligence."
Shorten said despite this he hoped the fine would serve as a warning to other employers.

"Their first priority must be ensuring a safe working environment for their employees."

The $310,000 fine is only exceeded by one imposed on Esso, which was fined $2 million for two deaths in 1998, and another on Baulderstone Hornibrook, which was fined $375,000 for a single death in 2001.

© 2002 UNIONSAFE
This site is sponsored by the Workcover Authority of NSW for Labor Council of NSW

Site designed and engineered by Social Change Online [credits]
This page: http://unionsafe.net.au/news/112243468930359.html
Last modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 20:37:38 EST