$750 fine over death is a travesty of justice; and an insult to the man’s family.
What is the price of a human life? Let’s put that another way. What would you pay to save the life of one of your loved ones: your wife, say, or one of your children? A million? Ten million? A hundred million?
Of course, there is no right answer. The cost of a human life is beyond mere money. Unless, of course, you work for the Hawaiian State Department. In which case, a human life – that of a demolition worker, 54-year old Juan Navarro, killed in the line of duty – is worth $1,500…or $750 each for the two companies cited in his death.
According to a report in the Star Bulletin, California-based AG Transport failed to provide a written engineering survey of the tower, including an emergency evacuation plan, prior to starting demolition. State Department of Labor Director Darwin Ching determined AG Transport’s violation was “serious” and imposed a fine of $750. General contractor Sans Construction LLC of Hawaii was cited as the co-contractor for failing to do its prime contractor responsibility in ensuring compliance with Hawaii industrial safety standards and was fined $750, the state said.
Setting aside what Navarro’s family must be thinking in light of this travesty of justice, what kind of signal does this send to the wider demolition industry, particularly those that walk the fine line between safe and unsafe, legal and illegal.
I’ll tell you what message this sends. It says that demolition workers are disposable; they’re an expendable resource that can be readily replaced.
Why bother spending all that money training your crews? Why throw good money down the drain on workers’ insurance, health benefits and pensions….let’s face it, they’re not going to be around to collect, are they? And shit, while we’re about it, let’s can the budget for hard hats and safety boots. If something lands on a worker’s head, we’ll just hire a new worker.
For all the efforts of the forward-thinking demolition contractors and trade associations around the world, it is precisely this kind of penalty for what is, effectively, corporate manslaughter, that will continue to drag this industry down; to undermine the public perception of our sector; and which will lead, inexorably, to yet more demolition deaths.
Our thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Navarro.
