A garbage contractor's failure to follow proper safety procedures led to the death of a young worker on his third day on the job, Quebec's Workplace, Health and Safety Commission said Tuesday.
The CSST has fined Sanitaire FA Ltd. of Laval for the accident that killed the teenaged worker in St. Leonard in October of last year.
The 18-year-old was standing behind the truck at Lacordaire and Cabrini when it backed up and crushed him as a colleague looked on in horror.
The CSST said Tuesday that the driver couldn't see the victim, who was standing in a blind spot.
What's more, the second colleague, who was directing traffic, was not in position to supervise the young worker who only had 20 minutes of verbal training.
The CSST also says the garbage-truck driver should not have been backing up in such heavy traffic, because of the risk that workers could have been struck by a vehicle.
"Sanitaire FA Ltd. ... compromised the safety of workers," the agency said in a statement.
While the CSST won't specify how much Sanitaire FA Ltd. was fined, cases like this often carry a hefty penalty.
"It's up to $20,000 and it can be double if it is a second repetition of the fine. Next year it's going to be even worse - $50,000 to $100,000," said CSST's Health and Safety Director Anh Caothi.
Fines for first offenders vary between $5000 and $20,000, and can be as high as $50,000 for repeat offences.
Recommendations
The CSST says the garbage contractor has revised its training procedures and has reviewed rules governing backing-up manoeuvre.
"We have forbidden backing up at all intersections. We have put in place a new training and supervision program for the company. All workers must be supervised and a supervisor must attest that they have mastered their training before they are left on a run by themselves," said CSST Inspector Pascal Rizzo.
Shocking statistics
On average, one worker aged 24 years or younger is killed every month on the job. Every year, 20,000 young people are injured
Youth Employment Services says young people eager to get into the job market often wrongly assume they don't have any rights when it comes to health and safety, or don't want to speak up.
"I certainly understand that sort of insecurity but they should really be thinking at the end of the day, 'Is this safe what I'm doing?' said Iris Unger from Youth Employment Services.
"From the employer's point of view as well, they have a responsibility. I mean, do they want to see themselves in the headlines as having hired people and not give them the proper training or equipment to do their job?" she said.
