Patrick Stevedoring found guilty of discrimination

PATRICK Stevedoring’s appeal against its conviction and fine for workplace health and safety breaches has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

In January 2011, the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court passed sentence against Patrick Stevedoring in what was the first discrimination conviction under Section 76 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. (VIC)

The sections makes it an offence to dismiss, injure or alter a worker’s position to his or her detriment, or threaten to do so, just because the worker has raised a safety concern or exercised their power as an elected health and safety representative.

Prosecuting party WorkSafe brought Patrick Stevedoring to court over a series of incidents in 2007 in which an experienced stevedore, who was also an elected health and safety representative, was given warning letters, stood down, and threatened with dismissal after raising concerns about safety.

The stevedore was particularly concerned about a “basket lifting” technique which Patrick Stevedoring wanted to introduce to lift loads of steel in and out of vessels. This method would replace the double wrapping technique.

The worker raised concerns about the safety of the basket lifting technique on three occasions in 2007, and objected to using the basket lift.

In a meeting between the worker and a Patrick Stevedoring manager, the manager threatened to dismiss the worker and stood him down for a week.

The worker later received a disciplinary letter with a number of complaints against him, including that he had refused to indicate whether he would follow instructions to use the basket-lift to load cargo.

In her sentencing remarks, Magistrate Rosemary Carlin said “serious instances of discriminating behaviour” had occurred, and that there was a need to deter other employers from discriminating against their workers.