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LCQ9: Safety of working at height
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     Following is a question by the Hon Ip Wai-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (February 24):

Question :

     According to the figures of the Construction Industry Council, among the fatal industrial accidents which occurred between January and November 2009, 18 belong to the category of "Fall of Person from Height", representing 81.8% of the total number of such accidents.  Quite a number of members of the trade have pointed out that work-at-height activities in the construction industry is dangerous with high mortality rate in accidents, but the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance ("FIUO") (Cap. 59) and the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations (Cap. 59, sub. leg. I) only stipulate that proprietors and contractors of construction sites have "general duties" to ensure the safety of employees and should take "adequate steps" to prevent any person on the construction sites from falling from a height of two metres or more, with no provision regulating work-at-height safety.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the respective numbers of inspections conducted by the Labour Department on procedures and safety measures for work-at-height activities in each of the past five years, as well as the number of cases of non-compliance uncovered;

(b) of the number of improvement notices involving work-at-height activities issued to proprietors or contractors of construction sites by the authorities in each of the past five years, and whether it knows the average number of days they took to take improvement measures upon receipt of the notices;

(c) of the number of suspension notices involving work-at-height activities issued to proprietors or contractors of construction sites in each of the past five years, as well as the average number of days for which the proprietors or contractors were required to suspend the works, and whether it knows the average number of days they took to take improvement measures upon receipt of the notices;

(d) of the number of prosecutions instituted under section 6A of FIUO against proprietors or contractors of construction sites in each of the past five years, the nature of such cases as well as the number of convictions; and

(e) whether the authorities will consider making reference to the practice of the United Kingdom and enacting dedicated legislation on work-at-height safety (including work procedures and safety measures), so as to safeguard the safety of workers; if they will not, of the reasons for that?

Reply :

President,

     The Government attaches great importance to safeguarding and promoting occupational safety and health of the workforce.  "Fall of person from height" is a major source of serious and fatal industrial accidents in the construction industry.  The Labour Department (LD) therefore accords a high priority to the safety of workers in work-at-height activities in its enforcement, education and publicity work.

     My reply to the five parts of the question is as follows:

(a), (b) and (c) LD officers regularly conduct surprise inspections to construction sites to ensure compliance by proprietors, contractors or site personnel with various aspects of the occupation safety legislation, including the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations (CSSR) (Cap. 59I) and relevant regulations under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (FIUO) (Cap. 59).  Since work-at-height is an integral part of construction activities, observation of work procedures and safety measures in the area also forms an inseparable part of site inspections by LD officers.

     Where anomalies are observed during site inspections, LD officers will take appropriate enforcement actions against the proprietors or contractors, including issuing written warnings, serving improvement notices (INs) or suspension notices (SNs) and initiating prosecutions, where appropriate.

     The numbers of LD's inspections to construction sites, warnings issued, and INs/SNs relating to unsafe work-at-height activities issued to proprietors or contractors of construction sites in the five years between 2005 and 2009 are set out in the following table.

Year                   2005     2006     2007     2008     2009
----                   ----     ----     ----     ----     ----
No. of inspections
to construction
sites*                49 786   48 550   45 795   47 917   50 801

No. of written
warnings issued#      13 432   12 368   13 091   13 078   12 372

No. of INs
related to unsafe
work-at-height
activities issued        450      427      468      371      362

No. of SNs related
to unsafe work-at-
height activities
issued                   107      108      113      115       89

* The total number of construction site inspectionsˇGinspection of procedures and safety measures relating to work-at-height forms an integral part of site inspections.  Therefore, it is not possible to provide separate figures on inspection concerning work-at-height.

# Written warnings were those issued in respect of various breaches of work safety legislation.

     The time required by proprietors or contractors of construction sites to rectify the risks involved in the SNs issued varies, and would hinge on the nature of risks involved and improvement measures required.  During those five years, duty holders took an average of about 49 days to secure revocation of the SNs.  LD does not have information on the time taken by proprietors or contractors of construction sites to rectify INs issued but would follow up on irregularities in question closely to secure compliance.  

(d) Prosecutions taken against proprietors or contractors of construction sites under Section 6A of the FIUO were mostly related to failures to provide a safe system of work for persons employed by them.  Over the past five years, the numbers of summonses taken under the said section are as follows ˇV

No. of Summonses
Heard             2005      2006      2007      2008      2009
---------------   ----      ----      ----      ----      ----
Under s. 6A
of FIUO          59 (35)   35 (28)   64 (58)   52 (38)   74 (54)

Note: Figures in brackets denote the numbers of summonses convicted.

(e) The current legislative framework provides adequate safeguard for work-at-height safety at construction sites: Part VA of the CSSR and the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Suspended Working Platforms) Regulation (SWPR) (Cap. 59AC) set out specific safety requirements for work-at-height activities.  

     Under Part VA of the CSSR, the contractor responsible for a construction site and any contractor who has direct control over any construction work shall, amongst others, safeguard any person working at a height against all hazardous conditions, take adequate steps to prevent any person from falling from a height of two metres or more, and ensure the safety in the design, construction and maintenance of any scaffold, ladder or other means of support.  Measures like the provision of a suitable working platform, safe access and egress, as well as proper fencing to a dangerous place shall be used to control hazardous conditions. A contractor who contravenes provisions under Part VA of the CSSR is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for 12 months.

     The SWPR governs the safe use of suspended working platforms.  The owner of a suspended working platform shall, amongst other things, ensure its safety in design, construction, maintenance, anchorage and support, as well as testing and examination before use.  An owner who contravenes provisions under the SWPR is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for 12 months.

     Complementary to the requirements of the CSSR and SWPR, the FIUO and the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OSHO) (Cap. 509) also set out the general duties of an employer to provide and maintain systems of work that are safe and without risks to health.  This includes systems of work related to work-at-height activities at construction sites.  The Commissioner for Labour may, under the OSHO, serve INs or SNs on employers or contractors to secure prompt rectification of irregularities, or to remove imminent risks of death or serious bodily injury to workers, and would include risks related to work-at-height.

     Since the current legislative framework has provided for adequate control on work-at-height safety to protect the safety of workers, we have no plan to make separate legislation for this particular aspect.

Ends/Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Issued at HKT 13:50

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