Labour Department responds to Office of The Ombudsman's direct investigation report

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     Regarding the report released by the Office of The Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) today (April 16) on its direct investigation into the "Government's Regulation of Occupational Safety and Health in the Construction Industry", the Labour Department (LD) expressed its gratitude for the work of the Ombudsman in the direct investigation and its valuable comments on the LD's current work. The LD is examining and studying the report in detail and will actively follow up on the relevant recommendations.

     The LD attaches great importance to the occupational safety and health (OSH) of the construction industry. The department is pleased to note that the Ombudsman affirmed and recognised its numerous effective work efforts in enhancing the OSH of the construction industry, including (i) amending the OSH legislation to increase the maximum penalties for OSH offenses; (ii) revising a number of codes of practice to strengthen safety requirements for specific work processes; (iii) conducting special enforcement operations to curb unsafe work practices; (iv) improving mandatory safety training courses and enhancing the supervision of course providers; and (v) promoting a culture of safety through various channels.

     Meanwhile, the LD has been taking various follow-up actions on the recommendations in the report, including (i) planning to start a trial of using small unmanned aircraft to assist in law enforcement in the second half of 2025 and exploring the adoption of speech-to-text technology to assist in taking statements, thereby improving the efficiency of frontline officers in law enforcement and evidence collection; (ii) broadening the participation of safety committee meetings to cover high-risk private construction sites with a poor safety performance to enhance risk monitoring; (iii) strengthening monitoring of safety practitioners to ensure they will discharge their duties cautiously; and (iv) enhancing the monitoring of mandatory safety training course providers and instructors' performance.

     An LD spokesman said, "In addition to the above measures, the LD will actively study and follow up on other recommendations raised by the Ombudsman, and strengthen the collaboration with the Development Bureau and the Buildings Department. The LD will continue to adopt a three-pronged strategy, including inspection and enforcement, publicity and promotion as well as education and training, complemented by the application of technology, to actively promote and foster an OSH culture in the construction industry, enhance workers' OSH awareness and prevent accidents."

Ends/Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:40

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