HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - 25 May 1988
1481
We have for many years now had regulations under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance obliging employers to provide adequate ventilation in working places and to take adequate measures to protect the employees from inhaling dust. In 1986, we introduced further regulations controlling the conditions under which asbestos is used and providing for the use of approved breathing apparatus. The result of all these measures has been a very encouraging reduction in the number of workers found to suffer from the disease and so qualifying for compensation. The number dropped from 472 in 1982 to 166 in 1987.
The Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund is financed by a levy on the value of quarry products and on construction works with a value of $1 million or more. The levy was originally set at 0.2 per cent, but because of our success in reducing the incidence of the disease it has been possible to reduce it to 0.15 per cent in 1986 and 0.05 per cent in January 1987, when the fund stood at $72 million.
Despite these sharp cuts in the rate of levy and despite our decision in October 1987 to extend the scope of the fund to include preventive works such as research, education and publicity, the accumulated surplus has continued to increase. By the end of February it had reached $111 million. The fund board has therefore reviewed the situation yet again and has recommended that the current 0.05 per cent rate of levy should be reduced still further to 0.02 per cent.
This is expected to reduce the surplus to about $77 million by 1993. This would still be about three times annual expenditure, but this will, of course, depend on the fortunes of the construction industry during this period. The trend of income and expenditure and the level of reserves will be kept under review and, if necessary, further adjustments will be recommended in consulta- tion with the construction and quarry industries which are represented on the board. The fund board considers that the optimum level of reserves should be about 18 months expenditure and has set itself this target for the long term.
Section 36 of the pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance provides that the levy imposed under section 35 of the Ordinance may be altered by a resolution of the Legislative Council. Section 36(3) of the Ordinance provides that the revised rate of levy comes into effect 30 days after the publication of the resolution in the Gazette, which would be on 27 June 1988.
Sir, I beg to move.
Question proposed.
MR. HO SAI-CHU (in Cantonese): Sir, it is learnt from the Secretary for Education and Manpower when he moved the resolution on the reduction of the rate of levy that the number of claimants who asked for payments from the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund has dropped from 472 in 1982 to 166 in 1987. This indicates that the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance and