An apprentice in regional Victoria was hung from a rope and jabbed in the groin with a drill as part of a long-running workplace harassment incident; his employer was fined $10,000 for the abuse.
The first-year apprentice was working for Celsius Ballarat Pty Ltd at Bakery Hill, near Ballarat, when he was attacked by colleagues.
He was too afraid to tell company directors for fear of retaliation, but ended up going to the police in February when he was lifted up and tied up with a rope, leaving him unable to breathe for a few seconds.
During an investigation into the allegations, a Worksafe summary reveals the apprentice was subjected to numerous physical assaults, including being spat on, placed in headlocks and shot with a nail gun.
The trainee was also subjected to sexually harassing comments and actions, including groin strikes and taunts about the fact that his biological father was not alive.
A bucket of water mixed with paint was also dumped on the apprentice during a cold day at the site and he was jabbed with a drill in the groin numerous times while on a ladder, the summary says.
It all came to a head on February 15 last year, when two colleagues lifted him up and placed him on a rope hanging from a strut in a cavity in the ceiling where they were working.
“The trainee claims he was unable to breathe for a few seconds,” court documents say.
Last week, the company faced Ballarat Magistrates Court where it pleaded guilty and, without conviction, was ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and costs of $3,227.
Without the guilty plea, the company would have been fined $20,000 without conviction.
A company has been fined $10,000 in Ballarat Magistrates Court in Victoria for the prolonged harassment of an apprentice
An apprentice in regional Victoria was hung from a rope and jabbed in the groin with a drill as part of a long-running workplace harassment incident, and his employer was fined $10,000 for the abuse.
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