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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - 25 May 1988
other legislations which aims to protect the health of workers have gone a way in achieving the intended results.
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Pneumoconiosis is a chronic and painful disease. As early as two years ago I had appealed to the Government that prevention is the most important means to cope with the disease. Compensation payments are merely financial recom- pense, which can never compensate for the physical and mental sufferings of the victims.
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Although the rate of levy for the compensation fund has been reduced time and again, with the decreasing number of claims from the compensation fund, the size of the fund still increased from $72 million in January 1987 to $111 million in February this year. In view of the significant size of the fund, support a further reduction of its rate of levy. Furthermore, I am of the view that good use of the fund should be made towards the prevention of the disease. Though the Government has decided in October 1987 to extend the use of the fund towards research, publicity and education programmes for the prevention of the disease, the annual allocation of $1 million in this respect represents only a very small proportion of the present accumulated fund. I think this is far from adequate. The scope of the fund should be further extended to cover more effective measures such as stepping up inspection of the ventilation facilities in workplaces; subsidising the installation of inhalers and to monitor the use of such apparatus; providing free vocational training for those who have just contracted the disease and wish to change jobs and giving them an appropriate subsidy to make up for the loss in wages during the training period. In short, the objective is to minimise as far as possible the number of new victims and to prevent further deterioration of health of those who have already contracted the disease. To make full use of the fund, it is not enough just to offer compensation passively. We should also take positive steps to prevent the disease. With this positive approach in mind, it is anticipated that in a few years' time when the number of claim from the fund becomes insignificant the levy should no longer be necessary. The recurrent payments from the fund should be covered by earnings from prudent investment of the existing funds.
Sir, with these remarks, I support the motion.
MR. TAM (in Cantonese): Sir, in view of the growing surplus of the Pneumo- coniosis Compensation Fund, the authorities concerned have proposed to further reduce the rate of levy for the fund from the current 0.05 per cent to 0.02 per cent. The continued growth of surplus is attributed to a steady income and the insignificant increase on the compensation payment, thus obliterating the need of too vast a reserve in the fund.
However, I do have doubts about a further reduction in the rate of levy. First, the fund is financed by a levy on the value of quarry products and on construction works. From the fund's statements of income and expenditure over the years, we can detect a direct relationship between the fall or rise of its
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