National Steel Car has been fined $140,000 after one of its workers died on the job in 2021.

The rail car marker pleaded guilty on July 20 after the province's ministry of labour said it failed to maintain safe working conditions, leading to the death of Collin Grayley.

It said company must also pay a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, which helps victims of crime.

The ministry laid out the details of the case in a news release on Wednesday.

Grayley died on April 23, 2021 while painting a rail car with a colleague. He entered a personnel lift and leaned out of the lift to paint the rail car, according to the ministry.

His colleague had left and found Grayley when they returned.

A provincial investigation found the lift didn't have a working safety release mechanism.

"National Steel Car Limited failed to maintain in good condition the safety release button inside the personnel lift," reads the press release.

The province says the rail car maker implemented preventative measures and a safety checklist which now requires employees to write whether personnel lifts are fully operational and safe to use at the beginning of every shift.

A third-party cleaning company was also hired to clean and remove paint from the personnel lifts between every shift and every rail car manufactured.

Two other workers have died at National Steel Car in recent years: Quoc Le and Fraser Cowan.

Employees have also been on strike since June 29, calling for better pay and safer work conditions.