Report on Injured Meat Worker

A report released yesterday by the Australian Meat Industry Employees Union states they believe JBS acted negligently by failing to properly assess worker concerns about safety on the hide puller carriage which collapsed and caused injuries to a worker earlier this month in Scone, but said overall JBS were a breath of fresh air in their approach to safety in the meatwork industry.

The incident occurred on June 16 causing the worker to fall onto the concrete floor and needed to be transported by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle for suspected spinal injuries. Read related story: Westpac Landed in Scone.

The report also stated JBS had ‘treated the issue very seriously and undertaken to urgently repair the broken carriage’ and had ‘fully cooperated with the AMIEU investigation and been forthcoming in their discussion with union officials.’

Grant Courtney, branch secretary Newcastle and Northern New South Wales for AMIEU said JBS was a leader in their industry for safety and questioned the role of the previous owner the Primo Group and possible safety flaws inherent in the hide stand machine.

“They are one of the leaders in workplace health and safety procedures and that’s why we were so disappointed when they were notified by a worker that morning…and the company was remiss to fix the problem when they were notified, so it is unusual for JBS,” he said.

“The Primo Group we didn’t have a lot of respect for with the way they treated workers in particular their international workforce and this company is a breath of fresh air in comparison to Primo management previously and this replacement of the hide puller stand was back in August 2013 and that was under the direct management of the Primo Group,” he said.

“With hide pullers like this one there’s been two other incidents of similar circumstances recently one in Victoria and one in Queensland and so the stands clearly there must be a flaw in the making or I suppose it’s just the set of cattle being processed; it is a very powerful machine because it is actually pulling the skin off the carcass,” Grant Courtney said.

The Union also identified an issue with the layout of the slaughter floor, whereby there is ‘no simple way to carry on stretcher an injured employee’ down multiple flights of stairs, but said they will review the matter with the company.

John Berry, director and head of corporate and regulatory affairs at JBS said “JBS is serious about safety and the matter is being investigated by the relevant regulator in New South Wales.”

The union confirmed the worker had been released from hospital and is recuperating.

Link to the full report: Report into JBS Scone Hide Puller Incident of June 16, 2017.