Thiess sack first aid officer

16 February 2007

Thiess have sacked the first aid officer working on the Marcus Clarke Street site after he gave permission to a worker to leave the site and seek medical help after being involved in a potentially fatal workplace accident.

A worker fell through a void on the fifth storey of a Theiss construction site on Marcus Clarke Street at approximately 1:00 pm on 8 February 2007. The worker fell onto ducting that was being installed. The ducting broke his fall, saving him from falling a further 6-9 metres. Had this ducting not been there, the fall could have been fatal.

Theiss did not lodge an incident report with ACT WorkCover straight away. Instead they issued a formal warning to the first aid officer on site after the officer allowed the injured worker to leave the site the following morning before notifying the foreman to seek formal medical treatment. The formal warning was later withdrawn after Thiess management came under pressure from workers on the site.

On 15 February 2007 Thiess sacked the first aid officer.

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