Comcare recently launched two federal court proceedings against Post Logistics Australasia as a result of two separate safety incidents in which Post Logistics employees were injured.
The first incident occurred on 14 August 2009, when the top of a Post Logistics employee’s right thumb was amputated after it came into contact with damaged guarding on a semi-automatic pallet wrapper;
The second incident occurred on 31 March 2008 when a Post Logistics employee sustained a fractured toe after the employee’s foot was run over by a forklift.
In both proceedings, Comcare will allege that Post Logistics contravened federal workplace safety laws by failing to take all reasonably practicable steps to protect the health and safety of its employees at work.
The maximum penalty for this type of legislative breach by a body corporate is $242,000.
Comcare also noted that Post Logistics had been in trouble over federal workplace safety laws.
In 2008, the Federal Court ruled Post Logistics had breached federal workplace safety laws in relation to a fatality of a contractor and imposed a pecuniary penalty in the amount of $165,000.
“While Comcare seeks to work collaboratively with employers in our scheme, we will pursue court action when our investigation concludes that an employer did not do enough to protect the health and safety of its employees,” said Comcare work health and safety general manager, Neil Quarmby.