WA farms not up to scratch as WorkSafe hands down hundreds of notices following two separate deaths

More than 100 safety notices have been dished out following an inspection blitz by WorkSafe of WA agricultural farms across the State. The safety blitz - prompted by the recent deaths of two workers at farming properties - has worryingly found market gardens under foreign ownership in regional areas “presented a general lack of knowledge” around occupational health and safety regulations. As revealed by The West Australian last month WorkSafe investigators brought forward the inspection program in the wake of two deaths on farming properties in November. On November 12, Malaysian contract worker Edward Wong, 37, was killed at a Bullsbrook strawberry farm when he was crushed by machinery attached to a tractor. Then on November 27, Thi Hga Huynh, who was aged in her 60s, was killed at her son Michael Le’s Carabooda property when she was struck by an orange tractor. In total, 21 farms and market gardens were visited by WorkSafe investigators as part of the blitz campaign. Farms near Perth, Albany, Esperance and Geraldton were inspected. A report of Worksafe’s findings shows 110 improvement notices and directions were handed out during the inspection blitz. Mobile plant non-compliance, failure to record pre-start checks and a lack of helmets were among the major issues identified. “Also identified were a number of unauthorised alterations to controls and ancillary equipment,” the WorkSafe report stated. “Another commonly breached area was the emergency precautions in the workplace, including emergency evacuation procedures, firefighting equipment provision and first aid equipment or a competent person to administer first aid at the workplace.” The report also said “some farms had been impacted by the lack of available workers due to COVID-19” and that farms closer to Perth “showed higher levels of compliance than those more remotely located.” “In more remote areas, market gardens under foreign ownership presented a general lack of knowledge around WorkSafe and the OSH Act and regulations,” the report also noted. “Language is a barrier and inspections often had to take place with an interpreter, usually a member of the property owner’s family. “This obstacle made it harder to help these farms gain compliance, as discussing issues was often challenging and open to misunderstanding. “It also presented difficulties when issuing notices, as accepting what was required, why it was required and how to comply was perplexing when English was not the main language at the site.” WorkSafe says it is planning a much wider inspection program later this year.