ZILINA, August 2, (WEBNOVINY) – The July accident in the company Mobis Slovakia in Teplicka nad Vahom, Zilina district, where the high-pressure injection press for the production of plastic bumpers killed an experienced Korean handyman, did not have to happen, according to the labor inspectors. The company violated the safety of work by allowing the employees to use wooden planks to operate the press, which resulted in the non-functioning of protection devices.
„It was clearly discovered that the cause was on the side of the organization; it was a tolerated and dangerous way of working. Since there was no direct witness who could have seen how the accident happened, we based our investigation on testimonies, photos, and documents presented by the employer. From what we found, we stated that the protection device of the high-pressure injection press was blocked due to the tolerated use of wooden planks by which the handyman shortened the speed of some interference to the machine and that is why the protection device was broken. If it was not broken, such a fatal work accident would not happen. If the employer did not tolerate this dangerous way of working; the accident would not have happened,“ Rudolf Kubica, the chief labor inspector of the Zilina Inspectorate said.
The employer shall bear the sanctions for the fatal injury of Korean handyman, and the amount will be decided by a five-member commission within one month. „On the basis of the identified deficiencies, the sanction will be imposed, of course. According to the Law on Labor Inspection, in case of fatal accident at work the minimum sanction is EUR 33,000 and can go up to EUR 100,000, so the penalty will move in this range,“ Kubica said. The company has the right to appeal on the amount of imposed sanction on the National Labor Inspectorate.
The company Mobis Slovakia is currently unable to comment on the conclusions of the work inspection due to the current vacation for the whole-factory.
SITA
