A construction company from Carlyle has pleaded guilty to one violation of the occupation and safety regulations in Carlyle Provincial Court on August 23, 2017.

Carlyle Contracting Services Ltd. was fined $25,000 plus a $10,000 due to an incident that occurred May 11, 2016 near Carlyle when an I-beam struck him in the back after the chain holding it broke. The worker received a serious spinal injury as a result of the accident.

"Employers have a duty to ensure workers are trained in matters that are relevant to their health and safety," explained Ray Anthony, Executive Director for Occupation Health and Safety. "Along with this, they have to equip them to preform the job safely and they have to supervise them to ensure that they use the equipment and follow the training that they are provided."

"They need to train their workers and they need to ensure their workers are equipped and follow that training. In most cases, when we see an accident, it's because something has changed in the workplace, something is broken, someone has gone away form their training, someone has not been trained."

He adds that employers can go to the WorkSafe website, and find seven safety associations for various industries throughout the province.

"They offer training, most of it quite reasonable because it's partly paid for by the Worker's Compensation Board. Employers can access it simply by contacting those associations."

He concluded by saying that safety should always be the top priority on every work site. 

"Slow down, take a look around. It's quite common to focus on the task at hand but take a minute and think about your safety and the safety of other people who work with you."