Construction industry achieved notable improvement in safety performance

The Commissioner for Labour, Mrs Pamela Tan Kam Mi-wah, said that last year the accident toll of the construction industry had recorded a notable decrease of 28.1 per cent while the accident rate per thousand workers had declined by 20 per cent when compared with 1998.  The number of work injuries and accident rate in the first quarter of this year had also come down by 21 per cent and 23.8 per cent respectively.  This illustrated that there had been steady improvement in the safety performance of the industry.

Addressing the Symposium on Safe Working Cycle organised by the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) today (August 16), Mrs Tan said: "The accident figures of the construction industry has been high.  However, it is encouraging to see signs of continuous improvement in the industry's safety performance both in terms of accident numbers and rate.  It shows that the policies we have adopted in education, promotion and law enforcement are beginning to pay off."

On the education front, Mrs Tan noted that the Labour Department had been providing free safety training for employees from various trades and industries.  In the last three years, for example, the department's Occupational Safety and Health Training Centre had organised more than 2 400 training courses for over 73 000 participants.

The Labour Department has also joined hands with other training bodies, such as the OSHC and the Construction Industry Training Authority, to promote mandatory safety training to tie in with legal requirements.  Up to now, nearly 250 000 people had completed the mandatory basic safety training course (Safety Card) for construction workers while more than 19 000 had received safety training on working in confined spaces.  

"We have asked training bodies to integrate safety concepts into all their skill training courses so as to ensure a basic understanding of workplace safety among workers.  For example, we have proposed that safety elements be included in the skill training for workers engaged in gas welding," she said.

"On the promotion front, the Labour Department has been disseminating occupational safety and health messages to employees through various channels.  In recent years, the Government, employers, employees and related professionals have been working as close partners in organising promotional campaigns.  This year, we will intensify our publicity campaigns and deliver the safety messages to family members of workers in order to promote an all-round safety culture."

"To cope with the requirements of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation that will take effect at the end of this year, we will make extra effort to promote the concept of safety management and enhance the understanding of the industries on this aspect," she continued.

Regarding law enforcement, Mrs Tan said that Occupational Safety Officers of the Labour Department would visit the management of various companies and look into their safety plans and policies. 

Occupational Safety Officers will also inspect workplaces to ensure that the management has implemented relevant safety measures.  They will also carry out inspections and identify potential hazards.  

Discussions will be held with the management on prevention measures to step up safety management procedures.  In addition, the Labour Department will take stringent enforcement action against companies that have inferior safety records. 

"We will also work with the Works Bureau and the Housing Authority through administrative means to peg the safety performance of contractors with their prospects in bidding new contracts.  This will encourage contractors to pay greater attention to workplace safety and strengthen our law enforcement power," she said.

"To achieve good safety performance, employers, employees and the Government must share the responsibilities.  We have stressed that employers and employees should join hands to set out safety policies through safety committees and other consultative machinery so as to adopt better safety and health measures.  The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation that will take effect soon provides a firm legislative support for the self-regulation concept," she added.

The Symposium on Safe Working Cycle was one of the major activities of the Construction Safety Day organised by the OSHC.  The event aims to enhance the occupational safety and health awareness of the construction industry.

"The symposium provides a forum for mutual learning and experience sharing among employers, employees, safety professionals and workers in the industry so as to upgrade the occupational safety and health performance.  With our concerted efforts, I firmly believe that the number of work injuries of the construction industry will reduce further," she noted.