Cleanaway safety fine reduced to a “slap on the wrist”

Cleanaway will now only have to pay a quarter of the $12 million fine ordered after two were killed in a horror crash in 2014.

The Supreme Court found that Cleanaway  failed “to eliminate or minimise the risk” of danger to employees through inadequate training:

• The driver gave evidence in court that he had never driven a manual heavy vehicle
• He had never driven the notoriously steep freeway before the crash and was not supervised to do so
• An accident investigator also found the truck had faulty brake linings that should have been fixed prior to the crash

The initial $12 million fine, now slashed to only $3 million, is a slap on the wrist for a company that continues to have appalling safety practices.

TWU SA members have grave concerns for the safety of workers and the public as Cleanaway attempts to slash pay through rostering changes and pay increases less than half of inflation that will force them to work longer and faster to make ends meet. Workers are already struggling to manage fatigue and fear this would worsen under Cleanaway’s proposal.

While SA members may have to consider taking industrial action, serious safety issues at the company continue around the country.