Introduction
The Committee on Employees' Compensation (CEC) has been in place since August 1986 to give advice on the effectiveness of the employees' compensation system and related legislation.

Terms of Reference
The committee is established to:

• review the employees' compensation system in Hong Kong;
  
  
• advise on legislative proposals on employees' compensation and review existing legislation; and
  
  
• advise on measures to be adopted by the Labour Department to improve the administrative machinery related to employees' compensation.

Composition
Members of the CEC are appointed by the Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour (Labour). The composition of the committee for the term 2005-2006 is as follows:

Chairman :		Deputy Commissioner for Labour (Labour Administration)
Members :		Three employer representatives from the Labour Advisory Board
		Three employee representatives from the Labour Advisory Board
		An employer representative from outside the Labour Advisory Board
		An employee representative from outside the Labour Advisory Board
		A representative nominated by the insurance industry
		A representative from a concern group on employees' compensation
		A representative nominated by the Hospital Authority
		A representative nominated by the Director of Legal Aid
		Assistant Commissioner for Labour (Employees' Rights and Benefits)
		Occupational Health Consultant (1)
Secretary :		A Labour Officer of the Labour Department

The membership list of the CEC for the term 2005-2006 is at Appendix I.

Activities During the 2005-2006 Term
During the 2005-2006 term, the CEC discussed the following matters:

Proposed additions to the list of occupational diseases under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (ECO)

The CEC noted that the proposal of including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Avian Influenza A to the list of prescribed occupational diseases under the Second Schedule of the ECO was enacted and came into operation on 8 February 2005.

Review of the levels of compensation under the ECO and the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance (PCO)

The CEC endorsed a proposal to maintain the amounts of various compensation items under the ECO and the PCO at their existing levels. The proposal was subsequently submitted to the Labour Advisory Board for consideration.

Promoting public understanding of the major provisions of the ECO and the services of the Employees' Compensation Division (ECD) of the Labour Department

The CEC noted the measures taken by the Labour Department in promoting public understanding of the major provisions of the ECO and the services of the ECD.