Vale Canada Limited was fined $150,000 in provincial court in Winnipeg and ordered to pay $37,500 in a victim surcharge after pleading guilty to one count of failing to ensure the safety, health and welfare of all workers on June 18 in connection to the death of 51-year-old, T-3 scooptram operator Greg Leason in 2011.
United Steelworkers Local 6166 president Murray Nychyporuk said last year that it was believed this was the first time Vale, and previously Inco, had been charged for a Thompson mining death.
Leason worked for the company for 23 years, and was injured while installing a safety bumper at the 3,500 level of the T-3 mine. Leason was rushed to the Thompson General Hospital as a result of the accident, and then was airlifted to Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre where he died Oct. 19, 2011.
Ryan Land, manager of corporate affairs and organizational development for Vale’s Manitoba Operations, released a statement on behalf of the company. “The health and safety of our employees is our highest priority. The tragic loss of Greg Leason is another reminder that we can never relax in our efforts to manage risk effectively and ensure that incidents like this are never repeated. Our thoughts continue to be with his family, friends and co-workers.”
Nine other charges against Vale were stayed.
Nychyporuk says this accident sends a message about workplace safety. “We as a union had to look at all high-risk work being performed in the division. Jointly the company and union have been identifying this type of work. Both parties have an inherent obligation to have safe work procedures for high-risk work. The company’s obligation is mandated by law, the union’s obligation is the need for our members to remain safe in the work place and return home unharmed at the end of the work day.”
