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The Labour Department proposed to amend the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Officers and Safety Supervisors) Regulations (the Regulations) to enhance the management duties of Registered Safety Officers (RSOs) and raise their professional status, the Commissioner for Labour, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said today (Thursday).

Speaking at a seminar marking the 20th anniversary of the Industrial Safety Officers Course organised by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Mr Cheung said the proposed amendment would empower the Commissioner for Labour to require a high-risk industrial undertaking to employ a full-time RSO. This would enable the Commissioner to target flexibly at industrial undertakings with poor safety performance.

"To improve the safety standard of the rapidly expanding container handling industry which is accident prone, it is now proposed that the industry be required to employ RSOs," he added.

Certain safety management duties will be added to RSOs to enhance their status in organisations they serve. This will pave the way for the introduction of safety management at the enterprise level.

"The qualification for RSOs, both in terms of academic achievements and safety related work experience, should also be raised."

"In addition, the qualification for RSOs will have to be re-validated once every four years. To qualify for revalidation, an applicant should have completed not less than 100 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes in safety and health in the four years preceding such an application. CPD programmes recognised for the purposes of revalidation will be published in the Gazette by the Commissioner," he said.

He also noted under the existing Regulations, the "Grandfather's Clause" provided that veteran practitioners who did not have the required academic qualification could register as RSOs. But according to the proposed amendment, this clause would be repealed and would no longer be applied to currently designated industries. Instead, this group of people would be allowed to register as Safety Officers in newly designated industries within 12 months.

On safety management, Mr Cheung said that the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation had been passed by the Legislative Council in November last year.

"The safety management concept has led to a change in our industrial safety strategy. We have now shifted our emphasis from law enforcement to promoting safety management. Self-regulation in respect of reducing the risks at work by the proprietors and their workforce is the key to attaining long-term improvements in safety standards," he noted.

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation will come into force before the end of this year. It will require proprietors and contractors to implement and maintain a safety management system, and appoint a RSO to carry out safety audits of such systems.

To register as a Safety Auditor, a person must be a RSO with not less than three years full-time experience in a managerial position for industrial safety and health matters in an industrial undertaking.

In addition, he should have successfully completed a training scheme conducted by a registered scheme operator or a scheme recognised by the department before the amendment comes into force. He should also have knowledge of the legal requirements in Hong Kong in industrial safety and health matters.

"Hong Kong's industrial safety performance is far from satisfactory and has been a concern to various parties. We pay high prices for these industrial accidents, including the sufferings of injured workers and their families, the enormous medical bill footed by the whole community, the delay in production activities, damage to corporate image and poor morale. In tackling the issue, we should not just consider financial losses, but other immeasurable costs such as tarnishing Hong Kong's international reputation," he added.

While pointing out that the Labour Department was seriously concerned about Hong Kong's high industrial accident figures, Mr Cheung said that there had been steady improvement both in terms of accident toll and rate in the industrial sector.

"In the first three quarters of 1999, the number of industrial accidents declined by 19 per cent and accident rate by 17 per cent when compared with the same period last year. The construction industry, in particular, recorded a sharp decrease in both accident toll and accident rate, by 30 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the accident rate per 1 000 workers also dropped from 252.4 to 203.9. It is encouraging to see continuous improvement in our safety performance."

"This demonstrates that the policies we have adopted in promotion, education and law enforcement are beginning to pay off. However, we must not be complacent and have to continue our efforts in minimising the number of accidents," he stressed.

To improve the industrial safety standards in the long run, Mr Cheung said that workplace managers and their staff should be self-regulating. Under the safety management system, the managers should develop and implement a safety policy and monitor the safety measures at workplaces. In addition, the employers should provide safety training to their employees and enhance their safety awareness. The employers and employees should also join hands in improving safety at work.

End/Thursday, January 13, 2000

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