Catering Industry Safety Award Scheme opens for enrolment today
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The scheme, jointly organised by the Labour Department (LD) and the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC), aims to enhance the safety and health awareness of employers, employees and their families in the catering industry, as well as the general public. Through an open competition, the scheme also aims to commend catering establishments, groups, supervisors and workers with a good safety and health performance.
All catering establishments in Hong Kong are welcome to compete in the five categories of awards, which are Catering Establishment, New Participant, Supervisor, Safe Worker, and Safe Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The New Participant category is a new initiative for this year and it aims to encourage new catering establishments or those which did not enter in the past five years to join the scheme.
The Catering Establishment category is divided into seven sub-categories: Chinese restaurants, restaurants (non-Chinese), hotels with kitchens, fast food shops serving Western food, fast food shops serving Chinese and general categories of food, cafés, and light refreshment eating places and canteens. Any catering establishment fulfilling the eligibility for the New Participant category is able to compete in the New Participant award of the respective sub-category.
Participating establishments are required to hold valid licences issued by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) on or before August 8 and until the announcement of the competition results, and their licences should not have been suspended by the FEHD for whatever reason in the 12 months preceding August 8 and until the announcement of the competition results. Also, they should not have recorded any serious or fatal industrial accidents or received any Suspension Notices issued by the LD in the 12 months preceding the enrolment deadline.
For the awards, gold, silver, bronze and meritorious prizes will be set up for each of the seven sub-categories under the Catering Establishment including the New Participant category and the Group Safety Performance Award winners. Awardees of the categories of Supervisor, Safe Worker and Safe Use of PPE, as well as the winners of Safety Awareness Awards will also be presented with certificates and cash coupons.
Preliminary assessment of entries, covering mainly the physical condition of the workplace, will take place from late July to early August. Final assessment, which covers the safety management systems of catering establishments, will be conducted from late August to early September.
Furthermore, the scheme also features a safety quiz. Members of the public aged over 15 as well as catering establishments and related organisations in the industry are welcome to join under the categories of individuals or institutions respectively. The deadline for enrolment is August 2.
Apart from the LD and OSHC, nine co-organisers of the scheme include the Occupational Deafness Compensation Board, the Hong Kong Catering Industry Association, the Hong Kong Hotels Association, the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, the Association of Restaurant Managers, the Institution of Dining Art, the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management, the Food and Beverage Management and Professional Staff Association and the Eating Establishment Employees General Union.
Enrolment forms and brochures of the scheme and the quiz can be obtained from the Labour Department's Occupational Safety and Health Branch offices and the Occupational Safety and Health Council on 19/F, China United Centre, 28 Marble Road, North Point, or downloaded from the LD's website www.labour.gov.hk. Enquiries can be made on 2852 3567 or 2852 3565.
Ends/Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Issued at HKT 11:00
Issued at HKT 11:00
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