Three companies were fined a total of €55,000 by the Paphos district court over health and safety breaches linked to a fatal workplace accident, the labour inspection department announced on Wednesday.

The prosecutions were brought by the department of the labour ministry following an investigation into the death of a worker at a construction site. According to the ministry, the prosecutions stemmed from violations of health and safety regulations that resulted in the death of a worker.

K Aristodemou (Sideras) Ltd, which is involved in the processing and installation of reinforcement steel, was fined €22,000 for breaches of the Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance Laws of 1989-2014 and the Safety and Health at Work Regulations of 2015.

The court found that the company had failed to ensure the use of safety harnesses with sufficiently strong safety straps equipped with anti-fall mechanisms and/or energy absorbers. As a result, one of its employees fell from a height of around eight metres and suffered fatal injuries.

The company was also found to have failed to maintain insurance cover against liability arising from accidents or occupational diseases affecting its employees.

S Georgiou Construction Ltd, which acted as the main contractor for the project, was fined €20,000 for breaches of the Safety and Health at Work (Minimum Requirements for Temporary or Mobile Construction Sites) Regulations of 2015, in the same case.

Celicandia Ltd, as the owner of the project, was fined €6,500 for breaches of the same regulations which exposed employees and other persons to the risk of injury.

According to the court’s findings, the company failed to submit advance notification of the construction site and the required documentation to the district labour inspection office in Paphos.

It also failed to ensure that the health and safety plan for the project was updated in a timely manner to specify the working methods and technical measures required.

The court also convicted three individuals for breaches of the regulations governing temporary or mobile construction sites.

The three were ordered to pay a combined fine of €6,500, while suspended prison sentences of 12 months and nine months respectively were imposed, both suspended for three years.