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Following is a question by the Hon Alice Mak and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (January 8):
Question :
In November last year, an accident occurred in Kwai Chung Container Terminals, in which a worker was crushed to death by a toppled container. Regarding industrial safety at yards for loading, unloading and storage of containers (container yards), will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of various types of industrial accidents at container yards, the resultant casualties, as well as the causes and the job types involved in such accidents, in each of the past five years;
(b) of the respective numbers of regular and surprise safety inspections conducted by the Labour Department at container yards in each of the past five years; whether cases of inappropriate storage and stacking of containers were found during inspections; if so, of the details and follow-up actions, including whether the personnel concerned were prosecuted; if no prosecution was instituted, of the reasons;
(c) whether it knows the respective numbers of safety officers stationed at various container terminals at present; of the measures, apart from inspections, taken by the authorities to monitor the storage and stacking of containers at container yards in respect of their compliance with the safety requirements promulgated by the Government;
(d) whether it has provided training and safety guidelines to workers at container yards, and required them to complete the relevant practical sessions and pass the assessment before they may take up the relevant jobs and operate heavy machinery; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(e) whether it has monitored the maintenance and repair of mechanical equipment at container yards in respect of its compliance with the relevant safety standards; if so, whether the responsible persons of container yards are required to repair or replace within a specified timespan those pieces of equipment not meeting the specifications or having a mechanical failure; if so, of the relevant requirements; and
(f) whether it has any plan to review the code of practice on work safety (including the timeframe for repairing or replacing equipment not meeting the specifications and the permitted stacking height of containers, etc.); if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply :
President,
My reply to the Hon Alice Mak's question is set out below:
(a) A breakdown of the industrial accidents of container handling activities over the past five years (up to the first half of 2013) by year and type of accident is set out at Annex. The Labour Department (LD) does not have a breakdown of these accident figures by job type.
(b) Officers of LD conduct inspections to container yards to monitor the operation at the workplaces and check the compliance with the occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation. Upon discovery of breaches of law, LD would take enforcement action, including issuing suspension notices (SN) / improvement notices (IN) and initiating prosecutions. The number of safety inspections to container yards and the enforcement figures in the past five years are set out in the following table:
No. of No. of
inspections prosecutions No. of SN / IN
Year conducted taken issued
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2009 1 986 8 2
2010 1 868 34 7
2011 1 631 13 4
2012 1 114 22 3
2013 1 475 37 62
(Up to
November 30)
With regard to prosecutions brought against the employers / proprietors of the container handling industry with summonses heard, 46 summonses were related to unsafe system of work, including improper storage and stacking of containers, unsafe use of forklift truck and ineffective traffic control, etc.
(c) According to LD's record, there are a total of 15 registered safety officers employed at various container terminals.
Apart from enforcement inspections, LD issued a Code of Practice in 2001 to the employers / proprietors of the container handling industry, providing safety guidelines on storage and stacking of containers, setting out the safety procedures for container stacking in the container yard. These include securing containers with stacking cones where necessary and ensuring close contact between the top and bottom corner fittings of containers, and adjusting the stacking height and layout of containers according to environmental factors to ensure safe operation in container yards. In addition, LD conducts regular meetings with industry stakeholders and organises container handling safety seminars in collaboration with the industry to enhance the safety awareness of industry players.
(d) In accordance with the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (FIUO) and its relevant subsidiary legislation, every person carrying out container handling in container yards should have received Mandatory Basic Safety Training (Container Handling) recognised by LD and possess a valid certificate. Moreover, every person undertaking crane or forklift truck operation in container yards should have received recognised operator training course and possess a valid operator certificate. LD would monitor the relevant training course providers to ensure the standard of the training courses.
In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Training Centre of LD organises regular safety and health training courses for employees of the industry to enhance their understanding of the relevant legal requirements and safety awareness.
(e) In accordance with the FIUO, the proprietor should provide and maintain a safe system of work to ensure the safety and health of the employees at work. Officers of LD would regularly conduct inspections to container yards, monitoring the operations at the workplaces, including the operation and maintenance of machinery and equipment, in order to ensure compliance with OSH legislation. LD would take enforcement action upon discovery of breaches of law.
(f) In accordance with the FIUO and its relevant subsidiary legislation, the responsible persons of container yards should ensure the safe use of lifting appliances and load-shifting machineries within the container yards. Furthermore, LD issued the "Code of Practice on Mechanical Handling Safety in Container Yards" to provide a practical guide for the responsible persons undertaking container handling to comply with the relevant legal requirements. LD would review the standard of the safety requirements from time to time having regard to the safety conditions of container yards. In this regard, LD has given safety advice to responsible persons of container yards on the use of lifting appliances for stacking of containers, precautionary measures to be taken under adverse weather as well as use of forklift truck, etc.
Ends/Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:45
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