Labour Advisory Board Report 2005-2006 - Chapter 8
Committee on Occupational Safety and Health
Introduction
The Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) was set up in January 1997 to advise on occupational safety and health legislation and related matters. It was formerly known as the Committee on Industrial Safety and Health which was formed in April 1989.
Terms of Reference
The committee is established to:
- review the standards of occupational safety and health in Hong Kong;
- advise on legislative proposals on occupational safety and health and review existing legislation; and
- advise on the measures to be adopted by the Labour Department with a view to improving the existing system which enforces occupational safety and health legislation.
Composition
Members of the COSH 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 (Occupational Safety and Health) |
| Members: | Three employer representatives from the Labour Advisory Board |
| Three employee representatives from the Labour Advisory Board | |
| Three employer representatives from outside the Labour Advisory Board | |
| Three employee representatives from outside the Labour Advisory Board | |
| A representative nominated by the Occupational Safety and Health Council | |
| Three representatives from occupational safety and health organisations | |
| Assistant Commissioner for Labour (Occupational Safety) | |
| Occupational Health Consultant (1) | |
| Chief Occupational Safety Officer (Support Services) | |
| Secretary: | A Labour Officer of the Labour Department |
The membership list of the COSH for the term 2005-2006 is at Appendix V.
Activities During the 2005-2006 Term
During the 2005-2006 term, the COSH advised on the following matters:
Major Publicity Programmes of the Labour Department for Promoting Occupational Safety and HealthThe COSH discussed the major publicity programmes of the Labour Department (LD) for promoting occupational safety and health. It gave suggestions on the programmes and proposed to invite renowned local athletes to boost the publicity efforts.
Subsequently, with the assistance of the Hong Kong Elite Athletes Association, the LD invited local elite athletes to take part in the production of the following short films:
- A short film on occupational safety featuring the renowned fencing player, Ms HO Ka-lai;
- A short film on occupational safety in the catering industry featuring the table tennis duo, Messrs KO Lai-chak and LI Ching; and
- A short film on safety of working at height featuring the renowned snooker player, Mr Marco FU.
The COSH discussed a detailed study conducted by the LD on work-related accidents involving back injuries in Hong Kong for the years 1999-2003.
Study VisitsThe COSH organised two study visits to the Hong Kong Disneyland and the Ngong Ping 360 Project in July 2005 and June 2006 respectively. Committee members were able to gain better understanding of the role of the LD in monitoring the occupational safety and health performance of these two major construction projects.
