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The Labour Department (LD) reminds employers, contractors and workers that unsafe use of ladders can pose serious risk to workers and may even be fatal. The department calls on practitioners of the industry to work together in improving the industry's safe work practice with a view to preventing accidents including those arising from work-above-ground operations.
Since 2011, six workers have been killed due to fall from ladders at work. A spokesman for the LD said today (May 8) that the department was highly concerned about these fatal accidents. In view of the situation, the LD will continue to take out stringent enforcement actions against unsafe work-above-ground practices and require practitioners engaged in renovation and maintenance works to comply with the relevant safety legislations and adopt effective safety measures to prevent accidents of falling from height.
Besides, the LD will continue to step up promotion and publicity efforts in this regard, including broadcasting television (TV) and radio Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs) and displaying banners and posters across the territory. The LD launched a new series of TV and radio APIs about the improper use of ladders last year to raise workers' awareness of work safety.
The spokesman said that to further enhance the safety of work-above-ground operations and reform the malpractice of using improper ladders in the industry, the LD collaborated with the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) to launch a sponsorship scheme in 2013 to subsidise small and medium-sized contractors to purchase mobile working platforms to substitute the use of ladders for working above ground. So far the OSHC has approved more than 1 700 applications, benefiting about 20 000 workers. The scheme has been widely welcomed by the industry since its inception, and has played a pivotal role in promoting occupational safety and health in Hong Kong.
"To address related requests from the industry, the LD, the OSHC and MTR Corporation have expanded the scheme further at the end of April this year to subsidise the purchase of light-duty working platforms, namely step platforms and hop-up platforms, to replace the use of ladders for work-above-ground operations to cater the needs of workers at certain workplaces, such as those with restrictive spaces. More than 70 applications under this expanded scheme have been received," the spokesman said.
The spokesman called on employers, contractors and workers to adopt appropriate safety measures and provide proper working platforms for working above ground to improve the safe work practice and enhance the safety culture in the industry, so as to prevent the occurrence of accidents.
Ends/Friday, May 8, 2015
Issued at HKT 21:01
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