Hilltop Meats operates an abattoir in Young, NSW, where a worker lost his foot during an incident in 2021. Photo: Edwina Mason.
A meat-processing company has been ordered to pay more than $800,000 in a fine and legal costs after one of its workers lost his foot at its abattoir in South-East NSW.
Hilltop Meats Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to comply with a health or safety duty and was fined $750,000 by the NSW District Court on 17 September.
The company operates an abattoir in Young, NSW, where it employs about 120 workers, Judge Wendy Strathdee wrote in her recently released decision.
On 20 October, 2021, the first worker got on top of a piece of machinery at the abattoir, known as a finished meal auger, to unblock a build-up of meat product.
A second worker went to fetch a tool and when he returned he could no longer see the first one standing on top of the auger, so he assumed he had moved and turned the machine on.
But he heard a squeal so he turned it off, then saw the first worker’s orange shirt in the machine above him and called for help.
The first worker’s leg had been traumatically amputated below the knee. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition, underwent six or seven surgeries to his left leg and right foot and was in hospital for two months.
He now has a prosthetic foot, suffers from issues with his right foot as well as chronic pain, and has not returned to work.
Judge Strathdee noted that in mid-January 2022, Hilltop Meats summoned the first worker to the abattoir and issued him with a formal warning for failing to follow company procedures.
“The demand for [him] to attend the workplace during a period when he was recovering from a very traumatic injury resulting in a significant disability is offensive,” she said.
“To treat any employee who was severely injured whilst working for the defendant in such a way is disgraceful.
“The fact that the defendant decided to take serious disciplinary action against [him] shortly after the incident, whilst he was still recovering, does not, to my mind, show remorse or contrition, nor any kindness or humanity, despite what is said in the defendant’s affidavit.”
Guards and covers were available to install around the auger at the time of the incident, but workers told SafeWork NSW the guards were removed several months beforehand to allow for visibility and to facilitate access to deal with blockages.
“The likelihood of the risk occurring if appropriate control measures were not taken was significant, and these control measures should have been implemented as they were simple, inexpensive and well known to the defendant,” Judge Strathdee said.
She said Hilltop Meats did not have a designated work health and safety officer for the site at the time and workers had developed their own procedures for removing blockages from the auger.
She said an emergency stop button for the auger was about 10 metres away from the on-switch and workers standing at the switch could not see the chute that required unblocking.
“There was no assessment of the competency of workers in clearing blockages on the auger prior to the incident. There were no handrails in place. There was no other system of falls arrest in place,” Judge Strathdee said.
“Prior to the incident, there was no comprehensive or adequate instruction or training provided to the workers regarding the safe procedure for the unblocking of the finished meal auger.”
The judge said Hilltop Meats was able to rectify the situation quickly and simply after the incident, including by reinstating the covers onto the auger, retraining workers, updating procedures and installing new equipment to improve safety.
In addition to the fine, she also ordered Hilltop Meats to pay SafeWork’s legal costs of $61,000.
NSW Minister for Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis said by establishing SafeWork NSW as a standalone regulator, the Minns Labor Government was sending a clear message: workplace safety is non-negotiable.
SafeWork NSW Commissioner Janet Schorer said being injured when working with unguarded machinery was a known hazard and a preventable risk she saw across the state and all industries.
“Those working with and around mobile plant, fixed machinery and vehicles need to stop and have a look at the safety systems they have in place to prevent this from happening,” she said.
Hilltop Meats was contacted about the decision.
