October 5, 2012
Employer Pleads Guilty in Death of Chinese workers in Tank Collapse
SSEC Canada, a subsidiary of Sinopec, a Chinese state-owned company, has pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health & safety of two workers killed in a 2007 tank collapse at a work site in northern Alberta.
In September, SSEC Canada Ltd. pleaded guilty to three charges under the Alberta Occupational Health & Safety Act and now faces up to $1.5 million in fines. The company pleaded guilty to two charges related to the deaths of two Chinese workers and third charge for failing to ensure the safety of two others who were seriously injured on April 24, 2007.
The two workers killed were Ge Genbao and Lui Hingliang when the structure of the tank roof collapsed during construction at the Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. site that is 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.
SSEC was the direct employer of the workers contracted by CNRL. SSEC recruited 132 Mandarin-speaking Chinese workers for the tank project, according to the agreed statement of facts as reported by the Edmonton Journal. The construction of the 13 tanks was to start in late 2006 but was delayed because the workers did not arrive when expected, even though there were Canadian Boilermakers who were ready, willing and able to get the job done.
According to the Edmonton Journal, the agreed statement of facts stated "In order to address various construction delays, SSEC Canada approached CNRL in December 2006 with a proposal to revise the assembly procedure whereby the tank walls and the roof support structure would be assembled contemporaneously." Further adding to the issue the Journal reported "A competent professional engineer would not have certified erection procedures allowing the skeletal structure to be stabilized in this manner during erection."
Joseph Maloney, International Vice-President of Western Canada for the Boilermakers, stated "Our hearts as Boilermakers and human beings go out to these two worker's families. It is not right that people who go to work at the start of their shift do not get the opportunity to go home at the end of the day to hug their families because their employer did not ensure their health & safety."
The Supreme Court of Canada refuses to hear any appeals from Sinopec who tried to appeal on the grounds it had no official presence in Canada and was not under the jurisdiction of a provincial justice system.