Saskatoon company fined $50,000 after worker’s coveralls get tangled in machine

A Saskatoon company was hit with a heavy fine this month after a worker was seriously hurt when their coveralls got tangled in a piece of machinery.

According to the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, Industrial Machine & Manufacturing Ltd. was fined a total of $50,000 by a provincial court judge on Sept. 14 after pleading guilty to contravening a clause of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.

The charge stemmed from an incident that happened in March of 2020, when a worker’s coveralls got tangled in the spindle of a boring mill, leaving the employee with serious injuries.

The court fined the company $35,714.29, with an additional surcharge of $14,285.71, bringing the total fine up to $50,000.

“Employers are required to provide safe and healthy workplaces, and must provide information, training and experience necessary for employees to perform their jobs safely,” the ministry said in a statement Thursday.