Companies must pay five-figure fine
British Columbia employers Columbia Labour Contracting Ltd. and Day And Night Labour Supply Ltd. have been ordered to pay a total of $60,065.28 for multiple safety deficiencies to their farm worker transportation vehicle.
WorkSafeBC handed the fines after inspections in collaboration with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement (CVSE) branch.
Columbia Labour Contracting has been fined $31,477.36 for violations it committed in Abbotsford.
Deficiencies observed be WorkSafeBC include emergency exits that didn't open properly, loose fuel tank straps and missing rear-facing reflectors.
WorkSafeBC issued a stop-use order for the vehicle.
“The firm failed to ensure its vehicles used to transport workers were maintained in a safe manner, a repeated violation,” according to the government agency.
Meanwhile, Day And Night Labour Supply has been fined $28,587.92.
Deficiencies observed by WorkSafeBC include a worn axle, a flat inner tire, and a disconnected tailpipe. WorkSafeBC issued a stop-use order for the vehicle.
“The firm failed to ensure its vehicles used to transport workers were maintained in a safe manner, a repeated and high-risk violation,” WorkSafeBC said of the employer.
Previously, in a roadside safety check, inspectors found that 67 per cent of commercial vehicles were “unfit for the roadway”. These vehicles were placed out of service, according to Burnaby RCMP.
Also, B.C. employer The Blue Goose Cattle Company Ltd. was fined $26,813.12 for health and safety violations with its use of a tractor in its Ashcroft worksite.
There have also been workers who were hurt in incidents involving vehicles.
One male worker was injured after being struck by a car in Ontario. The victim was a Unifor member of Local 1090 on a legal picket line at Casino Woodbine, according to the union. Also, a construction worker was struck by a vehicle on Highway 28 just east of Peterborough in Ontario.
In April, a 40-year-old farm tractor driver died after a crash.
