A Bay of Plenty kiwifruit contractor will pay a fine of $36,000 after a worker was injured while riding on a trailer last year.
Charles David Shoosmith, as trustee of Trust Shooies, was fined $30,000 with a further $6000 in reparation to the injured employee.

File picture.

David pleaded guilty in the Tauranga District Court to a charge laid by the Department of Labour under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of an employee.
The employee suffered a fractured and dislocated left ankle in May 2009 when his foot became caught under the kiwifruit bin trailer on which he was riding.
The trailer, carrying three laden bins and several other employees, had an estimated total weight of more than one tonne. The trailer was being pulled by a tractor.
The Department of Labour's Tauranga acting service manager Steve Worsley says carrying employees as passengers on tractors or bin trailers can be highly dangerous.
"Although the hazards are widely known and recognised within the industry, unfortunately it is still a very common practice.
"We are doing our best to educate the industry that it is not acceptable practice and this case reinforces our stance."
The case is the second prosecution of its type in the kiwifruit sector in recent times.
"This accident was entirely avoidable," says Mr Worsley, "and we will consider taking enforcement action against any employer allowing individuals to ride as passengers on tractors or bin trailers."