Labour Legislation

FACTORIES AND INDUSTRIAL UNDERTAKINGS ORDINANCE, CHAPTER 59

The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance provides for the safety and health protection to workers in the industrial sector. 

The Coverage

This ordinance applies to industrial undertakings, i.e. factories, construction sites, catering establishments, cargo and container handling undertakings, repair workshops and other industrial workplaces. 

General Duties

This ordinance imposes general duties on proprietors and persons employed at industrial undertakings to ensure safety and health at work. 

1. Every proprietor should take care of the safety and health at work of all persons employed by him at an industrial undertaking by: 
• providing and maintaining plant and work systems that do not endanger safety or health; 
• making arrangement for ensuring safety and health in connection with the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances; 
• providing all necessary information, instruction, training, and supervision for ensuring safety and health; 
• providing and maintaining safe access to and egress from the workplaces; and 
• providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. 

 
2. Every person employed at an industrial undertaking should also contribute to safety and health at work by: 
• taking care for the safety and health of himself and other persons at the workplace; and 
• using any equipment or following any system or work practices provided by the proprietor. 

• A person having the management and control of a factory or other industrial establishment (but excluding a construction site) should notify the Commissioner for Labour in a prescribed form (obtainable from various district offices of the Occupational Safety Operations Division) before commencement of operation.

 
• Any subsequent changes in the particulars of the workplace, e.g. its name, location or the industrial processes, should also be notified to the Commissioner for Labour in a prescribed form (obtainable from various district offices of the Occupational Safety Operations Division).

 
• A contractor should notify the Commissioner in writing within 7 days after commencement of any construction work under the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations.

 

Under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, there are 30 sets of subsidiary regulations covering various aspects of hazardous work activities in factories, building and engineering construction sites, catering establishments, cargo and container handling undertakings and other industrial workplaces. The subsidiary regulations prescribe detailed safety and health standards on work situations, plant and machinery, processes and substances. 

Click here for the full list of the 30 sets of regulations