National Textiles Fined For Unsafe Workplace

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday November 11, 1998

NATIONAL Textiles has been fined $15,000 in the Chief Industrial Magistrate's Court after a worker crushed his left hand in an accident at its Rutherford plant last year.

The company was prosecuted after a machine operator, who had been employed for five months, had fingers on his left hand severely lacerated and his hand crushed between two rollers.

The injured worker was working alone on July 21 when he noticed fabric slipping on a batching stand.

WorkCover told the court that the worker was described as trying to stop the fabric from slipping using adhesive tape while the machine was running.

He had seen his co-workers do this previously but his left hand was dragged into the machine.

The court heard that National Textiles Ltd did not have a safe system of work for using the batching machines.

A safe system was then written but without consulting workers, WorkCover said.

The fine brings to $58,000 the workplace safety fines recorded by the company since 1991.