5 April 2018

Glass company commits to $300,000 reparation after life-changing incident at workplace

| Ian Bushnell
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Glass Tech Australia Pty Ltd has committed to the undertaking after a delivery driver was injured at its Hume workplace.

Canberra largest glass company has agreed to a $300,000 enforceable undertaking with a range of actions after a serious ‘life-changing’ incident at its Hume workplace last year.

The ACT Work Safety Commissioner Greg Jones has accepted the arrangement from Glass Tech Australia Pty Ltd following the May 2017 incident in which a delivery driver was seriously injured during the unloading of glass panels.

“The delivery driver sustained significant and life-changing injuries when he was struck by a falling glass panel during the unloading activity,” Mr Jones said.

A WorkSafe ACT investigation revealed an alleged contravention of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, which prompted Glass Tech to submit a proposal for an enforceable undertaking.

The $300,000 obligation includes substantial contributions to improve safety awareness and practices in industry as well as providing broader community benefits.

These include improvements to safety systems/practices for workers ($164,000), glass stock and training for CIT students ($70,400), the donation to Red Cross of a new vehicle, and freezer units to enable the safe transportation of donated breast milk for premature babies.

An enforceable undertaking is a legally binding agreement with which Glass Tech must comply. If Glass Tech does not comply, the regulator can seek court enforcement, including an additional penalty of up to $250,000.

Mr Jones said the injury was preventable and should not have happened.

“We have already seen improvements to the safety culture at Glass Tech during the development of proposals for this enforceable undertaking. We expect this will continue through WorkSafe ACT’s ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance with the enforceable undertaking,” he said.

Glass Tech is supplier to some of Canberra’s biggest projects including the Vibe Hotel at Canberra Airport and the Pier Apartments at Kingston.

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