Labour hire provider and wholesaler both caught in entanglement incident

A Victorian labour hire provider and a potato and onion wholesaler have been fined after a worker’s hand was caught in a plant’s rollers, resulting in the amputation of a number of fingers.

The incident

MJ Dijamco Enterprises Pty Ltd (MJ Dijamco) is a labour hire provider that employed a worker through a labour hire agreement to work for potato and onion grower and wholesaler, Cummaudo Trading Pty Ltd (Cummaudo), on 5 June 2023.

The worker commenced working at Cummaudo’s workplace on 8 June 2023 and was requested to work on the onion grader machine. The machine contained counter-rotating rollers that were accessible when in operation.

While working on the machine, the worker, believing the machine had stopped, attempted to remove two onions from the rollers. In doing so, the worker’s hand was entangled in the rollers. A coworker had to press the emergency stop button on the machine to assist.

Charge and sentencing

MJ Dijamco and Cummaudo were both charged over the incident.

In an ex-parte hearing, MJ Dijamco was charged with failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment that was without risk by not having a system of work in place that ensured host workplaces provided training and induction on the use of equipment.

MJ Dijamco was found guilty, convicted, fined $40,000 and ordered to pay costs of $5,641.

Cummaudo was similarly charged with failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment that was without risk. The Court heard that Cummaudo could have minimised or eliminated the risk of serious injury from entanglement by:

requiring that the machine was installed with a fixed cage to prevent access to the counter rotating rollers and the sizing belt;
installing isolation switches to the cage’s gates to shut down the machine when opened; and
providing workers with information, instruction and training on the operation of the machine.

Cummaudo plead guilty and was fined, without conviction, $25,000 and ordered to pay costs of $5,641.

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