07:20 am, Wednesday 30 July, 2008

Source: The West

Lawyers for the family of a woman killed during cyclone George said yesterday it was pathetic that the catering firm she worked for could walk away with a maximum fine of $400,000 if found guilty of safety breaches which led to her death.

As WorkSafe prepares to prosecute four companies in relation to the death of kitchen hand Debra Till, Perth lawyer Sharad Nigam said it was shameful that the Occupational Safety and Health Act listed maximum penalties of $400,000 for each charge.

He called for the maximum penalties to be removed from the legislation so that judges could determine the appropriate fine based on the severity of each case.

“The $400,000 is grossly inadequate when there is a mining boom, which is the case here,” Mr Nigam said.

“There should be open discretion to the court so it can assess the amount of financial penalty for these types of breaches because the current maximum amount would have no effect at all.”

He said Mrs Till’s death fell into one of the worst categories of workplace negligence cases because the camp overseen by Fortescue Metals Group had 72 hours warning of a cyclone.

Instead of being evacuated. Mrs Till, who was employed by Spotless P&F Pty Ltd, was told to shelter in her donga.

When it was battered by winds of up to 275kmh she was flung into the air and crushed by flying debris.

He said new laws should require negligent employers to pay the same amount in fines as they paid in compensation to the family of a dead relative.

And current laws needed to be rewritten so penalties imposed were in proportion with the huge profits made by mining companies and their contractors.

Construction union deputy Joe McDonald agreed that the existing fines were paltry and went a step further yesterday, calling for harsher laws.

“The $400,000 maximum payout is woefully insufficient to allow members of the Till family to rebuild their lives after the tragic loss of Debra Till, a mother of two,” he said.

Eight companies, including one owned by the richest man in Australia, Andrew Forrest, will be prosecuted in connection with two deaths and injuries to seven people during cyclone George in March last year.

FMG, Spotless P&F Pty Ltd, The Pilbara Infrastructure Pty Ltd, BGC Contracting, Laing O’Rourke Pty Ltd, NT Link, WorleyParsons Services and Spotless Services Australia face a total of 49 charges under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

All eight companies are due to appear in Perth Magistrate’s Court on September 10.

Spotless did not return phone calls this week.

OHS News Tip: Workplace Safe Work Method Statement

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