Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) Ordinance 1999
The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 was passed by the Legislative Council in July 1999. It provides, among other things, that the workers in the construction and container handling industries should receive basic safety training and obtain a valid certificate (commonly known as the "Green Card"). The Amendment Ordinance is to further enhance employees' awareness and knowledge on safety and health at work with a view to reducing industrial accidents.
The Amendment Ordinance has added a new section 6BA to the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance which in brief provides for the following :
- to impose an obligation on a proprietor or contractor of a construction site or a container handling depot to ensure that all his employees have completed a relevant safety training course and possess a relevant certificate;
- to require a construction site worker or a container handling worker to carry the relevant certificate while at work and produce the certificate upon demand by the proprietor or an Occupational Safety Officer;
- to empower the Commissioner for Labour to recognize relevant safety training courses;
The provisions in the Amendment Ordinance regarding the recognition of training courses by the Commissioner became effective on 23 July 1999. The other provisions relating to the employment of workers holding a relevant certificate and an employee's obligation to carry the certificate whilst at work has come into effect on May 1 this year
Effective from 1 May 2001, all proprietors (and contractors) in the construction and container handling industries must ensure that all their workers have completed a relevant safety training course and possess a valid "Green Card".
On the other hand, every worker in the two industries shall carry the certificate with him while at work and produce the certificate upon demand by the proprietor of the undertaking or an occupational safety officer of the Labour Department. If he is unable to produce the certificate, he shall make a statement in a register kept by the proprietor of the undertaking that he has been issued a valid certificate.
Click here for a list of relevant safety training courses currently recognized by the Commissioner for Labour for the purpose of the new requirements.