Quick Links
Customer Centres
WorkSafeBC announces enforcement action against farm labour contractor
Richmond, B.C., May 9, 2007 WorkSafeBC is taking immediate enforcement action against a farm labour contractor following a roadside inspection this morning that found numerous violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The enforcement response is focused on the principal of 1063 Enterprises Ltd. whose family business, RHA Enterprises Ltd., owned and operated the van involved in the March incident that resulted in the deaths of three farm workers. The March incident is being investigated by the RCMP and WorkSafeBC.
Orders in relation to the following safety violations have been issued:
- The van did not have enough seat belts for all occupants
- Many of the seat belts were not functioning
- Bench seats were welded into the floor of the vehicle and the floor appeared to be rusted and unstable
- Several seat belts were bolted to the floor inadequately and were unstable
Given the unsafe conditions of the van, WorkSafeBC also served the following orders to Mr. Gill and 1063 Enterprises Ltd.:
- Stop Use Order on the Vehicle (it cannot be used until it is in compliance and safe to operate);
- Order to compel this employer to produce the names of all other companies he owns/operates as a farm labour contractor;
- Order to compel this employer to produce a list of all vehicles he and/or his companies operate to transport farm workers;
- WorkSafeBC will require all of these vehicles to be inspected by an inspection facility of its choice.
This employer must operate his business in a manner that does not continue to jeopardize the safety of his workers, said Diana Miles, vice president of Worker and Employer Services for WorkSafeBC. It is barely two months since the incident that left three people dead and others seriously injured, and this company is operating a vehicle that is not safe or in compliance with safety laws.
In addition to the enforcement actions described above, WorkSafeBC will be considering a penalty action against 1063 Enterprises Ltd. The Workers Compensation Act contemplates penalty amounts ranging up to $500,000 for a first offence and one million dollars for second offence.
WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors that serves nearly two million workers and about 188,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born out of a compromise between B.C.'s workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers and fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. The organization is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.
|
For more information please contact: |
| Donna Freeman
|