SafeWork NSW has begun the prosecution of P&J Harris and Sons farming partnership for the 2022 death of an employee and is investigating the death of a second employee.
In December 2022 a 28-year-old employee died when the backhoe he was operating at a property in Carinda slid more than 2 metres into a culvert, landing on its side. SafeWork investigations showed that the employee was ejected from the backhoe and pinned under the cabin. The deceased was an Estonian national employed for seasonal work.
Nineteen charges were laid against Peter, Jack and Jane Harris for “failure to comply with work health and safety duties”. The incident is currently being prosecuted in the NSW Industrial Court.
On New Years Day 2024 a second employee, 31-year-old Moken Maltungtung, died by drowning in a storage dam at a Carinda property, also owned by the Harris partnership. Mr Maltungtung was also a seasonal worker, visiting from Vanuatu. SafeWork is investigating the incident.
P&J Harris and Sons is not an approved employer in the Australian government’s Pacific Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, but it continues to employ Pacific Island seasonal workers independently.
Unions have long been aware of workplace injustices against migrant workers, with many studies revealing evidence of increased levels of physical and psychological harms experienced by some of our least protected employees. When migrant workers come to Australia, they do so often to earn money and support their families – yet they are particularly vulnerable to mistreatment and unsafe working conditions. This has been evidenced in several inquiries including the Hidden in Plain Sight report and the Be Our Guests report. The NSW Parliament is currently conducting an Inquiry into modern slavery risks faced by temporary migrant workers in rural and regional NSW.
Read more: ABC News | SafeWork lays charges against major cotton growing operation over farm worker's death
ABC News | Family wants answers after Vanuatu seasonal worker drowns on the job
