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With the recent hot weather, the Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about the risk of heat stroke for employees working in a hot environment. The department has formulated and launched a series of measures and also stepped up inspections with a view to preventing heat stroke at work.
A spokesman for the LD said today (June 13) that under the legislations on occupational safety and health (OSH), employers/proprietors have the responsibility to assess the risk of heat stroke to their employees working in a hot environment, and to take corresponding preventive measures, such as enhancing ventilation in the workplace, providing employees with sufficient potable water and arranging intermittent breaks or job rotation for them. Furthermore, the construction industry should also provide construction site workers with an additional 15-minute break every morning during summer from May to September each year according to relevant guidelines.
"The LD has formulated and launched a series of measures, including issuing letters to industry stakeholders including contractors, trade associations, workers unions and registered safety officers, to remind them of the systemic safety management measures related to heat stroke prevention. We will also liaise with major project proponents, including government departments, asking them to urge their contractors to take effective precautions against heat stroke," the spokesman said.
"The OSH complaint hotline of the LD will be appended to these letters to encourage workers and registered safety officers to lodge complaints against employers who have not implemented effective precautions against heat stroke to facilitate the follow-up action by the LD."
In respect of strengthening publicity, the LD has commenced promotion of heat stroke prevention. Part of the efforts will be a new television and radio Announcement in the Public Interest which will start broadcast from tomorrow (June 14) to further enhance the awareness of the general public and employees in heat stroke prevention.
The LD will also promulgate messages on prevention of heat stroke at work through different channels such as radio programmes, mobile media platforms of public transport, newspapers and journals for ethnic minorities, posters, OSH publication stands mounted at large housing estates, shopping arcades and commercial buildings in the territory. When the Very Hot Weather Warning is in force, the LD will issue press releases to alert all trades on the risk of heat stroke at work. The LD will also continue to issue Work Safety Alerts via the departmental website and e-mails to remind the trades of taking relevant safety precautionary measures.
"The LD will, at the same time, step up inspections and enforcement. Apart from conducting inspections since April this year targeting outdoor workplaces with a higher risk of heat stroke, a Summer Season Safety Campaign will be launched later in summer focusing on enforcement with regard to heat stroke. Strict enforcement action will be taken upon discovery of breaches," the spokesman said.
He added that the LD has also drawn up OSH codes and guides for employers and employees, including the Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work in a Hot Environment guide and Risk Assessment for the Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work checklists, to remind and educate employers and their employees to assess the risk of heat stroke and to adopt practical methods and measures for prevention.
The LD calls on employers/proprietors, major project proponents and their contractors to take effective measures to prevent heat stroke. To lodge complaints against employers not implementing effective measures to prevent heat stroke, please contact the Occupational Safety Officers of the LD on 2542 2172. All complaints will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Ends/Monday, June 13, 2016
Issued at HKT 11:04
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