Latest news with #workerSafety
CTV News
08-07-2025
- CTV News
Alberta company fined $350K in worker's death
Judges bench at the Edmonton Law Courts building, in Edmonton on Friday, June 28, 2019. A judge has granted Alberta's government its request to question the former head of the provincial health authority about confidential emails she's accused of keeping and sharing without permission. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson A land development company has been fined $350,000 in connection with a worker's death in November 2022. According to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), the worker was caught between a boom and a grounded bucket while doing maintenance work on an excavator at a site near Gull Lake. Delta Land Co. Inc. pleaded guilty to one count under OHS code. The Crown withdrew six other counts. The $350,000 fine includes a 20 per cent victim fine surcharge. Gull Lake is about 140 kilometres south of Edmonton.
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
H&M hands staff body cameras to catch shoplifters
H&M has become the latest retailer to give its UK staff body cameras as shops grapple with shoplifting and attacks on workers. The Swedish fashion giant told The Mail on Sunday it was conducting trials of the technology. It follows other household names Tesco, the Co-op and Lidl, which are providing staff with bodycams to protect them from abuse and assaults. High street firms say the move has been forced on them due to a police failure to act. Shoplifting was up one fifth last year with violent and abusive incidents running at 2,000 a day. Criminals – often organised gangs – increasingly steal goods in full view of staff and shoppers, safe in the knowledge that there will be no consequences. Workers are usually told not to intervene against thieves to avoid the risk of being attacked. Staff have also reported being sworn at, being subjected to racial and sexual insults, physically threatened, spat on and being victims of physical violence. The H&M bodycam trials are taking place at a store in Edinburgh as well as shops in Wood Green and Beckton in London. A spokesman for the firm said: 'We're testing this new technology in a three-store pilot to assess what beneficial impact it may have, along with proper staff customer service training, on de-escalating and reducing incidents for the safety of both our colleagues and customers.' The cameras are clipped onto a worker's clothes and can record distressing situations to help provide evidence to the police. Companies are turning to a wide range of security measures as they face unprecedented levels of theft and violence against staff. Chains including Tesco, Morrisons, Boots, Primark and Greggs said last week they would start submitting CCTV and photos of prolific shoplifters into a new database to be shared with police. The hope is that the database, known as Auror and pioneered in New Zealand, will provide security guards with watchlists so they can bar entry to repeat offenders. More goods are now being locked in anti-theft devices, including basic foodstuffs such as honey roast ham, pork and mincemeat. Greggs announced in May it had moved some products behind the counter to reduce theft. Shoplifting offences hit a record high in England and Wales last year with 516,971 incidents recorded by police, up from 429,873 in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics. And there were £2.2billion of recorded store losses from theft, up from £1.8billion the previous year. This was despite the industry investing £1.8billion into bolstering security, including the rollout of body cameras, panic buttons and CCTV. The number of violent and abusive incidents hit more than 2,000 a day in the year to April 2024, according to industry group the British Retail Consortium (BRC). In September 2023, Tesco boss Ken Murphy said every frontline worker at the supermarket chain would be offered a bodycam due to a rise in attacks. Labour has promised to make assaults on shop staff a specific offence in England and Wales, as it is in Scotland, in the Crime and Policing Bill currently making its way through Parliament. A clause states that anyone found guilty of assaulting a retail worker can be sentenced to up to six months in prison. The MoS has led calls for a crackdown with its End The Shoplifting Epidemic campaign. Graham Wynn, assistant director of regulatory affairs at the BRC, said: 'The police must get tougher on retail crime, ensuring that all incidents are attended to and followed up on, while the Government must ensure swift passage of the Bill to protect retail workers.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also said last week that more police officers will be deployed to hundreds of towns across Britain this summer to clamp down on crime and anti-social behaviour.
CNN
27-06-2025
- CNN
Video: Electrical worker knocked upside down by turning semi-truck
Dashcam footage captured the moment a semi-truck hit an electrical worker servicing a traffic light near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The driver, who was working in the bucket of a lift truck, sustained minor injuries, according to the Denham Springs Police Department.
CNN
27-06-2025
- CNN
Video: Electrical worker knocked upside down by turning semi-truck
Dashcam footage captured the moment a semi-truck hit an electrical worker servicing a traffic light near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The driver, who was working in the bucket of a lift truck, sustained minor injuries, according to the Denham Springs Police Department.
CBS News
25-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Dallas letter carrier dies after collapsing in 90-degree heat, highlighting Texas work safety risks
A Dallas mail carrier died Saturday after collapsing on his mail route on the first day of summer, highlighting the deadly risks of work in Texas' extreme heat. Jacob Taylor, 51, was a 28-year employee with the U.S. Postal Service. Last Saturday, he started his deliveries from the Brookhollow Post Office in Northwest Dallas. The temperature outside was in the 90s. The president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Brian L. Renfroe, spoke before the House Subcommittee on Government Operations on Tuesday, announcing that Taylor "died on the job last week" amid extreme heat conditions. "I was told that a customer saw him entering his mail together to make deliveries, all of a sudden, collapsed," said Kimetra Lewis, who represents members of the Dallas Union for Letter Carriers. There are 2,800 union members, and within the past two years, there have been two deaths. On June 20, 2023, Dallas letter carrier Eugene Gates Jr. collapsed and died on his mail route. The heat index that day was 117 degrees. His wife said the vehicle he was driving that day was not air-conditioned. OSHA fined the U.S. Postal Service more than $15,000 for not protecting Gates from the heat. The citation listed recommended measures, including earlier start times and a heat acclimatization plan. The U.S. Postal Service said it is "deeply saddened by the loss of life involving a Dallas letter carrier," and that the safety of its employees is a top priority, including the use of a National Heat Illness Prevention Program. The official cause of death for Taylor has not been released. "I'm hoping it's not heat-related, because it would put another scare for letter carriers, not just here, but everywhere," said Lewis. Safety and heat-related illnesses According to MedStar, prolonged and/or intense exposure to hot temperatures can cause heat-related illnesses. Heat exhaustion Heat exhaustion occurs when the body loses large amounts of water and salt through excessive sweating. This is usually through physical labor or exercise. The loss of essential fluids can disturb your circulation and interfere with brain function. Symptoms Symptoms of heat exhaustion may include muscle cramps, paleness, sweating, nausea, and vomiting. Children and the elderly are especially susceptible. Heat stroke Heat stroke is the more dangerous of the two. It is a life-threatening problem that occurs when the body suffers long, intense exposure to heat and loses the ability to cool itself. What are the signs? Some of the most common signs of heat stroke include confusion, vomiting, altered sweating, hot and flushed skin, rapid heart rate, decreased sweating, shortness of breath, decreased urination, increased body temperature, or even convulsions. If you see someone displaying the above signs, you are advised to immediately call 911. MedStar's tips Hydrate : Drink plenty of water during the day, especially if you are engaged in any strenuous activity. Sports drinks are a good choice if you're exercising or working in hot conditions, but water is a good way to hydrate as well. : Drink plenty of water during the day, especially if you are engaged in any strenuous activity. Sports drinks are a good choice if you're exercising or working in hot conditions, but water is a good way to hydrate as well. Ventilate : Stay in a place where there is plenty of air circulating to keep your body cool. If you are indoors and don't have access to air conditioning, open windows and use a fan. : Stay in a place where there is plenty of air circulating to keep your body cool. If you are indoors and don't have access to air conditioning, open windows and use a fan. Cover up : Wear light-colored and loose-fitting clothing to avoid absorbing the sun's light and trapping heat. Wear a hat to shield yourself from the sun, but once you feel yourself getting warm, remove any items covering your head that can trap heat close to your body. : Wear light-colored and loose-fitting clothing to avoid absorbing the sun's light and trapping heat. Wear a hat to shield yourself from the sun, but once you feel yourself getting warm, remove any items covering your head that can trap heat close to your body. Limit activity : Heatstroke can occur in less than an hour when you are participating in strenuous activity during a hot day. If you feel yourself getting hot or light-headed, stop your activity and rest in a cool place out of the sun. Be sure to drink water or a sports drink before, during, and after any strenuous activity. : Heatstroke can occur in less than an hour when you are participating in strenuous activity during a hot day. If you feel yourself getting hot or light-headed, stop your activity and rest in a cool place out of the sun. Be sure to drink water or a sports drink before, during, and after any strenuous activity. Check on loved ones: The elderly are especially vulnerable to heat-related emergencies. Many elderly residents are not aware of how hot it may get in their residence. Call on older friends and family members regularly to assure they are doing OK.
