******************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (October 17):
Question:
This year, a number of workers suffered heat stroke while working in very hot weather. A worker even died of heat stroke on 24 July when working at the site of the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course in Sai Kung. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the Labour Department ("LD") had investigated if the person responsible for the above golf course had provided sufficient potable water to the workers; if it had, of the findings of the investigation and whether LD will institute prosecution;
(b) whether LD had instituted, in the past three years, prosecution under section 16 of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulation against any person responsible for a workplace for not providing sufficient potable water to employees; if so, of the number of such cases and, among them, the number of those in which the accused were convicted; and
(c) whether the Government will legislate to require employers to provide shade shelters for workers working in the hot sun, assign very hot and sunny periods as rest breaks, as well as require employers to arrange workers to suspend work or rest when the Very Hot Weather Warning is in force, so as to ensure that no more workers will die of heat stroke; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In respect of the incident on 23 July 2007 in which a construction worker was suspected to have sustained heat stroke while working at a golf course construction site at Kau Sai Chau, LD immediately launched an in-depth investigation on the following day. According to the autopsy report, there was no evidence to suggest that the cause of death was related to heat stroke. As regards a media report that a person claiming to be an ex-worker of that construction site alleged that the contractor did not provide potable water for workers on-site, LD made a surprise visit to the site on 30 July 2007. The visit found that the contractor had installed water purifiers, distilled water dispensers and tea-urns at three locations (viz. the site office, the container near the pier and the concrete mixing plant within the site) to provide potable water free of charge for workers. Moreover, two drink vending machines were also installed outside the site office and the concrete mixing plant so that workers could purchase soft drinks. Upon LD's advice subsequent to the incident, the contractor has placed additional distilled water carboys in the site vehicles to give workers more convenient access to potable water since early August.
(b) Section 16 of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulation (Cap 509A) stipulates that the person responsible for a workplace must ensure that sufficient potable water is provided at the workplace for the consumption by workers engaged on-site. In the past three years, officers of LD did not detect any cases of major irregularities that directly caused imminent risk to the health of workers during inspections to various workplaces. Therefore, there was no case of prosecution under the relevant section of the Regulation.
(c) Heat stroke can be caused by a variety of reasons. Sole reliance on weather conditions is therefore inappropriate for assessing the risk of heat stroke. Rather, all relevant factors should be taken into account, including environmental factors such as the temperature, humidity, wind speed and radiant heat in the workplace, and the precise nature of work as well as individual related factors such as the health condition of workers, the effects of any drugs being taken and the clothing worn by them.
The Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap 509) and the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (Cap 59) and their subsidiary regulations clearly set out the general duties of employers. Specifically, they must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure the safety and health of all their employees, and provide sufficient potable water for their employees. In respect of the prevention of heat stroke, it is therefore the legal responsibility of employers to assess such risks for their employees working in a hot environment and take appropriate preventive measures including the provision of potable water.
At present, the Hong Kong Observatory will announce very hot weather warning and advise the public to take necessary precautions to avoid any possible adverse health effects. When such a warning is in force, employers should exercise special caution and conduct the necessary risk assessment to determine the risk of heat stroke to their outdoor workers and adopt appropriate measures to reduce the risk. Such measures could include erecting a shelter at the workplace to shield off direct sunlight, advising workers to drink more water, enhancing ventilation at the workplace, arranging for employees to take regular rest breaks in a cooler place, rotating jobs within a work shift, arranging outdoor work in cooler periods during daytime and arranging for employees to use mechanical aids at work to minimise physical demands.
To enhance employers' and employees' awareness of the risk of heat stroke and its prevention, LD has issued a guideline entitled "Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work in a Hot Environment", apart from regularly organising public health talks. The Administration will also issue Announcements of Public Interest and press releases to raise the awareness of various sectors and remind them to take precautionary measures during hot periods.
Ends/Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:40
NNNN
