Crate shipment of bus shelter glass fell on employee
The City of Regina revealed it has been fined $100,000 by the province after pleading guilty in provincial court to a violation of the Saskatchewan Health and Safety Act.
The incident happened in December 2020 while a crate shipment of bus shelter glass was being unloaded in a shipment container. It fell on a city employee, causing serious injuries.
The city launched an internal investigation into the incident, according to a CTV News Report.
Barry Lacey is the executive director of financial strategy and sustainability with the City of Regina. He says, “at the time, the city did not have the right safety practices and policies in place to protect the worker.”
Lacey says the space in which they were working was “limited” and there was nowhere for the employee to go when the crate fell. He says the city “cooperated fully with the province’s occupational health and safety investigation.”
He also says the employee no longer works for the city and would not disclose the extent of the injuries.
“The City of Regina extends a public apology to this individual who was injured on the job, accepts responsibility for the unsafe conditions that led to the injuries and remains fully committed to protecting the health and safety of its workers,” says Lacey.
The city has changed its procedures for unloading glass for bus shelters. It now must be done in a safe and open area, and not in a confined space.
“Training requirements in respect to particular procedures to take when unpacking that glass have been updated to make sure the handling of glass is documented and employees have the proper training to do so.”
Lacey says the city doesn’t budget for health and safety fines and will need to find efficiencies in the overall budget to pay the $100,000.
