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18/06/2008
News Item Men made to work with broken hands TWO Chinese nationals working under Federal Government 457 visas were forced to work with broken hands and arms on unsafe equipment at a Campbellfield printing company, a court heard yesterday. While recovering from work injuries, Zi Hong Fu and Cheng Cai were given jobs that still required them to use both hands, including working on their boss's home erecting steel beams while their hands were in plaster, the court was told. Just weeks after breaking a wrist falling off a ladder while performing unqualified electrical work, Mr Fu had to erect scaffolding on the unrailed factory roof, despite never having done it before. Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court heard that while drilling into 8mm thick metal plates with his unbroken left hand using a two-handed drill -- supported between his chin and right hand -- he ended up breaking that wrist too. Ten days later he was told to come back to work at Lakeside Packaging to disassemble a machine while his left arm was still encased in plaster. He was given a letter at the end of the day warning him of his job performance. Mr Fu, 50, was in so much pain he returned to hospital, where doctors gave him another three weeks' sick leave. When he returned with his left arm in plaster and right arm in a splint, his boss Menol (Tom) Najdovski ordered him to do maintenance work on his property, including operating a drill and cutting steel. Worksafe Victoria prosecutor Nandi Segbedzi said Mr Fu was finally sacked while on another bout of sick leave a week later. In his victim impact statement, Mr Fu said he suffered nightmares and developed a fear of heights. Lakeside Packaging pleaded guilty to seven charges including failing to provide a safe workplace and failing to provide information, instruction, training and supervision in a language understood by the employees, between March and September 2006. Neither of the Mandarin-speaking men could understand English. It is the first Worksafe Victoria prosecution involving the 457 visas. The court heard that in another incident, Mr Cai crushed his right arm trying to remove mis-fed paper in an unguarded printing press. Mr Cai, 35, who was in hospital for two weeks, required plates and bolts to be inserted to fix the bone and a skin graft. He was told it would be a year before his arm could be used normally again but he would never be able to straighten it. In his statement, he said he was never told the printing machine had no safety features. He suffered nightmares and regretted ever coming to Australia. Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg adjourned the matter until July 2 when he will hand down his decision. source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23881478-2862,00.html |
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