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EMPLOYMENT
training courses are also organised for persons who wish to obtain a provisional certificate of competency. Pamphlets on statutory, technical and safety aspects of pressure equipment are published for dissemination to owners and attendants of such equipment.
The division also provides technical assistance to the Fire Services Department concern- ing the safety of storage and handling of Category 2 dangerous goods.
Occupational Health and Hygiene
The Occupational Health Division of the Labour Department provides an advisory service to the government and the public on matters concerning the health of workers and the hygiene of the workplace and complements the Factory Inspectorate Division in super- vising health standards and practices in industry. It works to maintain and improve the physical and mental well-being of workers and to protect them against any health hazard arising from their employment.
During the year, the division took part in a number of seminars and arranged several exhibitions for the promotion of occupational health. The division also published a series of booklets and codes of practice on the prevention of occupational diseases. Occupational health promotion and education activities were carried out by nursing officers to arouse the awareness of employers and employees to occupational hazards in workplaces.
A prime responsibility of the division is to investigate notified occupational diseases and potential health hazards reported by the Factory Inspectorate and to determine preventive action. Surveys were conducted in various industries and the following epidemiological studies on health and hygiene conditions have been completed: solvent hazard in printing; silica hazard in road breaking and trench work; bladder cancer survey; hazard of cutting fluid in the metal manufacturing industry; health effects of the use of moulding powder associated with the metal casting process; and the health hazards of sulphuric acid during handling, charging and storage of stationary batteries. A programme to monitor factories with possible lead hazards, quarries with dust hazards, factories with cotton dust hazards and major chemical factories using solvents is carried out regularly.
The division also carries out medical examinations of personnel exposed to ionising radiation, users of compressed air breathing apparatus, government employees working in compressed air or engaged in diving and pest control. It also deals with cases of silicosis under the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance. The division's registered nurses handle medical clearance for employees' compensation, cases and its occupational health officers are appointed as members of Special Assessment Boards and Prostheses and Surgical Appliance Boards under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance.
The Occupational Health Division's laboratory carries out analytical tests on biological samples collected from workers and other environmental samples taken during site visits.
Employees' Compensation
The Labour Department administers the Employees' Compensation Ordinance and the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance. The department ensures that injured employees and dependants of deceased employees covered by the Employees' Com- pensation Ordinance obtain from their employers, without undue delay, compensation in respect of injuries or deaths caused by accidents arising out of and in the course of employment, or by occupational diseases. It also ensures that persons covered by the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance obtain compensation as soon as possible from the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund, which is financed by a levy imposed on the construction and quarry industries.