A Geraldton bakery has been fined more than $65,000 for breaching WA's laws on fatigue management for commercial vehicle drivers, the third time the company has been charged with offences under these laws.
Wytona Pty Ltd - trading as Sun City Bakeries - pleaded guilty to a total of eight charges over two separate prosecutions and was fined in the Geraldton Magistrates Court today.
The first prosecution involved two offences committed over the period July to September 2007 where commercial vehicle drivers undertook many journeys during which they did not take the required seven-hour break of non-work time after 17 hours of work time.
The second prosecution involved four offences committed over the period September 2007 to February 2008 where commercial vehicle drivers did not take the required breaks, along with two charges involving drivers not having medical certificates attesting to their fitness to drive a commercial vehicle.
The court heard that the employer failed to ensure the drivers knew how long they could drive with out seven-hour break, and to allow the drivers enough time in their schedules for the required breaks
Wytona Pty Ltd had been fined $18,000 on five similar charges in May 2007 and a further $15,000 plus $9500 costs in May 2009 on one charge of breaching the fatigue management regulations.
WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today that the company stood out as a serial offender against the fatigue management laws while the majority of the rest of the industry seemed to be getting the message on fatigue management.
"WorkSafe has been conducting regular roadblock exercises over the past seven years, and these have found that the commercial vehicle industry has steadily increased its compliance with the laws over that period," Ms Lyhne said.
"Regulations governing the management of fatigue have been in operation in WA since 2003, and we've generally been pleased with the gradual increase in understanding of the laws with most companies having fatigue management systems in place.
"It's disappointing that there are still employers like Wytona who are not complying with the regulations despite being prosecuted twice before and hence being well and truly aware of the requirements.
