A NSW window glass company has been hit with a massive $1 million fine for breaching workplace safety laws.

The penalty against WGA Pty Ltd handed down in the District Court on Friday is the highest imposed in the state for such lapses, the NSW government said.

The case revolved around a contractor working on a window ledge at apartment block construction site in Sydney’s South Hurstville in 2014.

The man, 49, suffered burns to 30 per cent of his body after power jumped from nearby 33,000-volt powerlines feeding a train line while he was installing a piece of aluminium.

“No matter what kind of work you do, everyone who has a job in NSW has a right to a safe workplace,” Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean said in a statement on Monday.
The company has 28 days to lodge an appeal.

 

By Julia Carlisle