EMPLOYMENT
The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) Ordinance 1989 was enacted on December 15, 1989. It imposes a general responsibility on employers and employees with regard to safety and health at work and introduces custodial sentences for serious breaches of industrial safety and health regulations.
A working group was formed by the department to study the safe handling and storage of freight containers on land. The findings and recommendations are being studied.
The Factory Inspectorate Division pays particular attention to safety in high risk areas on construction sites. From April to October, four special enforcement campaigns were conducted, during which factory inspectors visited 781 construction sites throughout the territory. The campaigns resulted in 417 summonses being issued.
Throughout the year, the Factory Inspectorate's Industrial Safety Training Centre conducted safety training courses for workers, supervisors and managers from various industries. Safety talks were organised for teachers and students of technical institutes and special safety courses were also arranged for potential summer job-seekers before the school holidays commenced. As in the past, the centre gave talks on safety management to business students in post-secondary institutions. Starting in 1989, centre staff delivered talks to medical and engineering students of the University of Hong Kong. In colla- boration with the Hong Kong Polytechnic, the centre continued to organise two evening courses leading to the award of a Certificate of Proficiency in Industrial Safety and two evening courses leading to the award of a Certificate of Proficiency in Advanced Industrial Safety. Furthermore, the department continued to assist the Construction Industry Training Authority to run training courses for safety officers and safety supervisors.
The Safety Programme promotion unit helped industry to develop a sense of self- regulation towards the promotion of in-plant safety and health. The unit assisted management and employees to recognise and rectify safety and health hazards and to develop or improve their own in-plant safety and health programmes. Guidance materials were published regularly to assist industry to understand the principle and the technical aspects of self-regulation. The unit also assisted in organising seminars, safety training courses and other activities. In July, a three-day residential seminar on Self-Regulatory Approaches in Labour Inspection was organised for the second consecutive year jointly with the Asian and Pacific Project for Labour Administration of the International Labour Organisation.
The Factory Inspectorate, in conjunction with the Information Services Department, continued its publicity programme for the promotion of industrial safety through the mass media and other means. A campaign to promote protection of the eyes was organised during the period from July to November jointly with the Hong Kong Federation of Societies for Prevention of Blindness. A large-scale conference on industrial safety management for managers, unionists, supervisors and workers' representatives was held in November, with an audience of over 500.
In April, a new committee on Industrial Safety and Health was established under the Labour Advisory Board to advise the Commissioner for Labour on industrial safety and health legislation.
The title of the Boilers and Pressure Receivers Ordinance was changed to the Boilers and Pressure Vessels Ordinance in December 1988. The Commissioner for Labour has been appointed as the Boilers and Pressure Vessels Authority under the ordinance.
The Boilers and Pressure Vessels Ordinance stipulates that boilers, steam receivers, steam containers, air receivers and pressurised cement tanks mounted on trucks or trailers must be approved and registered with the Pressure Equipment Division and must be
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