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In the past two years, the Labour Department recorded a rising trend in occupational injuries concerning the lifting or carrying of objects that resulted in incapacity exceeding three days to an employee.
The number of such occupational injuries went up from some 7,800 cases in 2003 to 8,400 cases in 2005, while the number of cases involving back injuries increased from about 3,900 to over 4,000.
The Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, released the latest occupational injury statistics at the Occupational Health Carnival cum Backcare Programme Inauguration Ceremony today (December 3) and expressed concern over the rising trend in occupational injuries.
Mr Cheung said: ¡§The recovery of Hong Kong's economy in recent years has led to an increase in total employment. Thus, it is understandable that the number of occupational injury cases has slightly increased from 2003, the year when Hong Kong was hit by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
¡§Certainly we will not take the resurgent trend lightly. Work injury will have serious consequences for the employers, employees and the community as a whole, resulting in an all-loss situation,¡¨ he continued.
These losses are especially obvious in cases of back injuries. According to the Labour Department¡¦s statistics, the average number of work days lost because of back injury was as many as 32 days, representing 11% more than those for other types of work injuries. Furthermore, 12% of back injury cases resulted in a loss of over 60 work days.
In this connection, the department aims to reduce work accidents and to protect the safety and health of employees through legislation, law enforcement, promotion and public education.
The Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance stipulates that every employer must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure the safety and health of their employees at work. The provision also provides for the protection of employees who are engaged in manual handling operations so as to reduce the risk of work injury. The person responsible for a workplace must conduct risk assessment to such operation, take appropriate preventive measures and provide training for his employees.
The department conducts regular inspections to different workplaces and takes enforcement actions to ensure compliance of the relevant legislation. In addition, the department has stepped up inspections to restaurants to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in catering workers who are engaged in manual handling operations. A total of 398 inspections were conducted in the first nine months of this year, with the issue of seven improvement notices and 55 warning letters.
Meanwhile, in order to protect employees who use display screen equipment for prolonged periods of time from improper posture at work and thus suffering from musculoskeletal disorders such as back pain, the Occupational Safety and Health (Display Screen Equipment) Regulation requires a person responsible for a workplace to perform a risk assessment of his employees¡¦ workstations, take appropriate precautionary measures, and provide necessary training for his employees. Employees should comply with the relevant risk reduction measures.
Mr Cheung said: ¡§We have conducted 272 inspections to workplaces with display screen equipment in the first nine months of this year, resulting in the issue of 69 warning letters, 14 improvement notices and three successful prosecutions.¡¨
Mr Cheung stressed: ¡§The Government¡¦s efforts alone are not sufficient in improving the occupational safety and health standards in Hong Kong. Employers, employees, occupational safety and health groups and professional organisations must share the responsibility together in achieving this goal.¡¨
The Occupational Health Carnival was jointly organised by the Labour Department, the Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Council, Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board, Occupational Deafness Compensation Board and the Commercial Radio. Through the distribution of free practical teaching kits, provision of free risk assessment for manual handling operations and invitation to enterprises for signing a charter, the event served to raise the awareness of employers and employees in preventing musculoskeletal disorders.
Ends/Sunday, December 3, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:31
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