A crane sits idle after a workplace accident saw a man's arm pinned under a massive piece of concrete at Coldstream Concrete in Middlesex Centre. (Photo courtesy of an anonymous source)A crane sits idle after a workplace accident saw a man's arm pinned under a massive piece of concrete at Coldstream Concrete in Middlesex Centre. (Photo courtesy of an anonymous source)
Windsor

'They Don't Care How Much They Risk Our Lives'

After a Middlesex Centre concrete manufacturer saw a worker lose an arm in a construction accident this week, employees are voicing allegations of ongoing unsafe working conditions at the facility.

A number of workers with the company have told BlackburnNews.com that working conditions and the machinery at Coldstream Concrete are abysmal, and have been for many years, despite numerous reports to the Ministry of Labour.

A crane sits idle after a workplace accident saw a man's arm pinned under a massive piece of concrete at Coldstream Concrete in Middlesex Centre. (Photo courtesy of an anonymous source) A crane sits idle after a workplace accident saw a man's arm pinned under a massive piece of concrete at Coldstream Concrete in Middlesex Centre. (Photo courtesy of an anonymous source)

On Wednesday, police and paramedics were called to the concrete facility on Quaker Lane in Middlesex Centre after a large concrete culvert that was being moved fell and crushed the arm of a worker, 38-year-old Geoffrey Morphew (known to his coworkers as Gee-Off). Morphew's injuries were deemed non-life threatening, but doctors had to amputate the limb.

While the incident is currently being investigated by the Ministry of Labour, one of Morphew's fellow co-workers, who has asked to remain anonymous, said it could have been prevented.

"The crane being used [on Wednesday] when Gee-Off lost his arm is 60 years old; it's covered in rust and all of the workers have complained that this crane leaks 4 litres of oil per day," he said. "A crane was lifting a piece and putting it on top of another piece, and his arm got caught in between -- and the cable for the crane broke."

The worker (who will be referred under the pseudonym John) said, in the last month, four cranes have broken down at the work site. One 20 tonne crane in particular malfunctioned four times in a row and dropped pieces that almost struck workers, he said.

Three other current employees and two former workers have also expressed the same concerns to BlackburnNews.com.

"In the 20 years I've been in construction, I haven't ever seen as many accidents as I have in the last three years... I saw four guys on crutches this year," said John.

John said Morphew also suffered carbon monoxide poisoning on the job, just two weeks prior to losing his arm in the crane accident. As well, around a month ago, a concrete elevator fell over, almost killing two workers. He added that half the forklifts in the plant are leaking hydraulic fluid and they have chunks missing out of the tires the size of a fist.

"I have never seen anybody have such a flagrant disregard for health and safety, and workers' rights," John said about his time working for Coldstream Concrete. "They don't care how much they risk our lives."

John said last summer, workers were told to lift a piece of concrete that exceeded the weight limits of the crane. He said the concrete piece fell and "exploded like a grenade and shot chunks of concrete all over the place. Four workers got hit and were bleeding afterwards."

John also blames the Ministry of Labour just as much as the company for Wednesday's accident, due to a lack of action. He said that in his time with the company, the Ministry of Labour has attended Coldstream Concrete at least four times each summer, with one year reaching ten visits in just a few months. John said, to his knowledge, the company has not been penalized in any way for unsafe working environments.

John said on Thursday, a day after the accident cost Morphew his arm, "the accident site has been disassembled already. They've taken apart the crane and all the wires, which is really bad because the wire is the thing that malfunctions. So once you touch those wires, you can no longer investigate them because their coils change as soon as you move it."

He said Ministry of Labour did attend the scene on Thursday, and he wonders why investigators would already have the accident site cleared.

"I've worked for a lot of companies... and when there's an accident, standard procedure is to leave that accident -- you don't touch a single thing -- and you hire a security company to stand there and guard that accident site for two weeks so no one touches it until a certified crane engineer can come in and inspect every single wire on that cable," he said.

John said he and his co-workers have repeatedly reported Coldstream Concrete to the Ministry of Labour, but to no avail. He said he made a safety report to the ministry three weeks ago, and another coworker made a similar report just two weeks before the accident that cost an employee his arm.

"All of us workers keep calling the ministry over and over, and nothing changes," he said. "[The ministry] could have prevented this accident if they listened to us."

The Ministry of Labour has confirmed to BlackburnNews.com that it received one of the worker's complaints on July 5, which identified "violence, equipment maintenance, dust" and "unreported incidents" as concerns. An inspection was done on July 6, which "found no contraventions or observed hazards as related to the complaint."

No orders were issued by the ministry and that investigation is complete.

"They have not changed a single thing in our lives. They have not protected us, they have not made us feel safe," John said.

Ministry spokeswoman Janet Deline has agreed to send BlackburnNews.com further information on past complaints, investigations, and orders. However, archived data going back a decade is not expected to be available for weeks.

Blackburnnews.com has also placed a call with Coldstream Concrete. Controller Gary Davidson referred all questions to company President Robert Brown who has not responded to a request for an interview.

Coldstream Concrete has been in business since 1945 and employs 70 people. It manufactures precast concrete products for the construction and drainage industry.

- With files from Adelle Loiselle

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