Eight months following Kern Ettiene’s tragic death in a trench at a WASA worksite, the Occupational Safety and Health Authority has filed a formal complaint in the Industrial Court against the authority for six breaches of the OSH Act after Etienne’s accident on October 22.
OSHA also mandated a overhaul of WASA’s safety procedures after finding the breaches.
WASA has now engaged the services of the National Gas Company to review, audit and advise on its processes to ensure best practice.
Etienne had been a Wastewater Craftsman. He, along with eight other workers, had been performing work on the sewer and water mains at the San Fernando Licensing Office Compound when the mud from the trench collapsed on top of him. His colleagues frantically clawed through the mud to save him but he died on the spot, bleeding from his eyes, ears and mouth.
The matter was called for case management on June 7, 2024.
The breaches, though not detailed, centred around safety procedures and the executive of the job itself.
Yesterday, in a statement, WASA confirmed OSHA found six breaches and filed the complaint in court.
The authority said its internal investigation into the incident identified procedural and safety deficiencies in the conduct and execution of the job, and it has been in consultation with its attorneys to get legal direction on the matter.
The statement said WASA’s Board of Commissioners also launched an immediate investigation and instructed the authority’s executive team to take immediate steps to ensure all health and safety processes and procedures were adopted and adhered to without exception.
WASA said these steps included an immediate HSE Safety Standdown of all WASA crews, during which the CEO and director of Operations met with all senior Operations staff to reinforce a zero-tolerance standard on safety.
“Refresher training was provided for all managers and crews on the safety procedures and protocols regarding excavation and similar type work. To ensure compliance, random inspections are conducted at operations sites, with zero tolerance for any safety breach,” WASA said.
WASA said it has partnered with AMCHAM and the NGC to enhance excavation safety competency for selected staff.
It added it has engaged the services of the National Gas Company to review, audit and advise on its processes to ensure they are in line with international best practice.
Mother: Why did
WASA have to wait?
Meanwhile, Etienne’s mother, Joyce Grant-Roberts finds the latest developments a bitter-sweet relief.
Speaking to Guardian Media at her Embacadere, San Fernando home yesterday, Grant-Roberts said while she was relieved that safety would be improved, her heart was still heavy as nothing could bring her son back.
She questioned why WASA had not implemented proper safety measures before.
“Why did WASA have to wait until OSHA investigate for this to happen? If they had done this before and put safety in place, Kern would still be alive,” she cried.
She said she continues to question WASA’s safety measures.
She said WASA had not informed the family about the new developments which will now be taken before the Industrial Court as OSHA had filed a formal complaint against WASA in the Industrial Court.
“It seems WASA does not care about us,” she said.
She claimed during her last conversation with a senior WASA official she was told that the authority could not have communicated with her as she had “lawyered up.”
Wiping away tears, Grant-Roberts said she did not want anybody to go through the pain of losing a loved one in such a horrific way.
An autopsy done on Etienne’s body revealed that the weight of the mud had crushed his spine in two places.
“What he went through was not nice. Nobody should have to face this,” she said.
Grant-Roberts said Etienne’s two daughters—Kiara, 15 and Kimora, age five, were suffering without their father who was the sole breadwinner.
Efforts to contact Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales on the matter yesterday proved futile.
