​The Commissioner for Labour, Mr Chris Sun, visited the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Academy of the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) today (April 8), to learn more about the OSH training facilities and courses provided by the academy to practitioners of different industries.
      
     Mr Sun was first briefed by the OSHC's Chairman, Dr Alan Chan; the Vice-Chairman, Mr Chan Wing-on; and the Executive Director, Ms Bonnie Yau, about the council's latest work and services. Mr Sun then visited the OSH Immersive Experience Hall, where he gained first-hand experience of working at height in a highly realistic truss-out bamboo scaffold erected at an external wall. He also experienced a mock accident that was conducted safely to understand the importance of adhering to safety measures.
      
     Mr Sun also visited a number of training venues and facilities, including those for confined spaces, forklift truck safety operations, tail-lift safety operations, and enhanced light-duty working platforms. The Labour Department (LD) and the OSHC jointly launched a sponsorship scheme to subsidise small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to purchase step platforms or hop-up platforms with enhanced designs. The scheme aims at raising the awareness of employees in using safe working platforms, instead of using ladders, for above-ground work. At present, each eligible SME can receive a subsidy of up to 80 per cent of the product price to purchase the required light-duty platforms.
      
     When attending a demonstration of avoiding dog bites at work, Mr Sun chatted with the course participants to see how the training they received enabled them to gain an understanding about the behaviour of dogs, the causes of dog bites as well as preventive measures. 
      
     Mr Sun said, "The OSHC, which has all along been committed to fostering a safe and healthy working environment in Hong Kong, is a close working partner of the LD. Looking ahead, I hope that both parties will continue to work together to further promote the OSH culture and enhance the OSH performance in Hong Kong through publicity, promotion, education and training."
      
     Located in Tsing Yi, New Territories, the academy is a spacious six-storey building with an area of 5,000 square metres, providing various interactive teaching facilities, practical rooms and workshops, as well as simulated work environments for different industries.
      

Ends/Thursday, April 8, 2021
Issued at HKT 19:43

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