safety standards
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The worsening safety record of the renovation and maintenance sector was a matter of concern for the Labour Department, the Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said today (September 9).
He said the department was determined to raise the occupational safety and health standards of the sector through stringent enforcement action and a publicity campaign.
Speaking at the launch of the Renovation and Maintenance Works Safety Campaign and the award presentation ceremony of the Construction Safety Promotion Campaign, Mr Cheung said the number of industrial accidents involving renovation and maintenance works had dropped from 3,402 in 2000 to 1,454 in 2004. However, this sector still accounted for a considerable proportion of all construction accidents and the share went up to 37.9% in 2004 from 28.5% in 2000.
Of the 17 fatal cases recorded in the construction industry last year, six were from the renovation and maintenance sector which representing 35.3% of the total number. Among these six cases, four accidents involved workers falling from height.
"Labour Department occupational safety officers have already stepped up inspection of renovation and maintenance projects. However, it should be noted that most of these works employ only a few workers with work activities lasting only a short time, and works of this scale are not required to report to the Labour Department. As a result, many such works would not come to our notice easily," Mr Cheung said.
"To tackle these, the department has established a reporting mechanism with the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies through which association members would notify the department of their schedules of property renovation and maintenance works.
"We will enhance the mobility and flexibility of our enforcement action. Our safety officers will not only step up point-to-point inspections and take strict enforcement action on normal working days, but also at night and during holidays will clamp down on offending contractors. We will also issue suspension notices or improvement notices when necessary," he said.
The department publicises the safety of renovation and maintenance works through the media. The theme of the Construction Safety Promotion Campaign this year is to enhance the promotion of work safety for these projects with a view to further cultivating a safety culture among traders.
Mr Cheung noted that through the concerted effort of stakeholders and the implementation of safety management systems by contractors of large-scale projects, the safety performance of the construction industry had improved considerably in recent years.
During the past five years, the total number of work accidents of the industry dropped significantly by 67.9%, from 11,925 in 2000 to 3,833 in 2004. The accident rate per thousand workers also fell 59.7% from 149.8 to 60.3.
Mr Cheung said that with the concerted efforts of the Government, employers, employees and related parties, the occupational safety performance of Hong Kong would be enhanced. He also urged all parties to work together to minimise the number of accidents.
Ends/Friday, September 9, 2005
Issued at HKT 16:46
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