Sir,
Reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower
to Mr. HO Sai-chu's speech
in the Legislative Council on 4th December 1985
I welcome Mr. Ho's comments and would like to
take this opportunity to clarify the
Government's
attitude towards the work of the Pneumoconiosis
Compensation Fund Board.
The Employees' Compensation Ordinance requires
compensation to be paid by an employer to an employee
who is injured, or contracts an occupational disease,
arising out of the course of his employment. The
reasons why compensation for pneumoconiosis is not dealt
with under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance are
firstly, that the disease is specific to the quarry and
construction industries and secondly,
and secondly, that it can take
many years to become apparent and it is therefore
difficult, if not impossible, for liability for the
payment of compensation to be attached to a particular
employer. For these reasons it was decided to establish
a statutory fund, financed by a levy on the quarry and
construction industries, to be responsible for making
payment of compensation
In other
to
pneumoconiotics.
respects the compensation
of
pneumoconiotics should
accord with the
principles
adopted generally for
employees' compensation.