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The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said today (April 28) that the occupational safety and health performance in Hong Kong had shown sustained improvement in recent years through the joint efforts of the Government, employers, employees and trade organisations.
Speaking at the World Day for Safety and Health at Work and presentation ceremony of the Outstanding Employees in Occupational Safety and Health Award Scheme, Mr Cheung noted that 1998 saw a record high of 63,526 work injuries and an accident rate of 26.7 per thousand employees.
He said, "The number of work injuries and the accident rate per thousand employees fell significantly in 10 years' time. In 2008, the statistics were 41,900 and 15.8 respectively, representing a drop of 34% and 40.8%
"The improvement made by the construction industry has been most encouraging. The caseload of construction accidents and the accident rate per thousand workers plummeted from 19,588 and 247.9 in 1998 to 3,033 and 61.4 respectively in 2008, representing a decrease of 84.5% and 75.2%."
Mr Cheung stressed that not only had Hong Kong improved continuously in the area of occupational safety and heath, but had also made tremendous progress in safeguarding the rights of employees in the long term.
"We will introduce the Statutory Minimum Wage Bill to the Legislative Council before its recess in July. This will mark a milestone in the protection of labour rights in Hong Kong.
"As the number of labour disputes may increase at this time of economic downswing, we will put forward the Employment Ordinance (Amendment) Bill to the Legislative Council before it adjourns in July. The Bill, which aims to criminalise non-payment of Labour Tribunal awards, will give much deterrent effect on unscrupulous employers."
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) named April 28 the "World Day for Safety and Health at Work" to arouse concern of the international community over occupational safety and health.
To support ILO's initiative and commend employees from various sectors with significant achievements in promoting work safety culture, the Outstanding Employees in Occupational Safety and Health Award Scheme was launched for the first time this year by Legislative Councillors from the labour sector, Labour Advisory Board employee members, the Occupational Safety and Health Council, as well as the Labour Department.
Mr Cheung said, "A total of 232 nominations were received from trade unions or organisations/enterprises. The enthusiastic response showed the great importance the community attaches to the protection of our valuable human resources. I would like to thank all those involved for their efforts and I firmly believe that with concerted efforts, we will perform even better in the years ahead."
Ends/Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:31
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