EMPLOYMENT
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Industrial Safety
The Factory Inspectorate Division of the Labour Department is responsible for enforcing the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations. These regulations provide for the safety and health of workers in factories, restaurants, catering establishments, building and engineering construction sites and other industrial undertakings. Advice and assistance are given to managements on various safety and health aspects, including the adoption of safe working practices and improving factory layouts to achieve a better working environment. The inspectorate also investigates industrial accidents and dangerous incidents.
During the year, two serious industrial accidents occurred. In the first case, the main mast of a tower crane involved in the construction of the Tsing Ma Bridge buckled during a load test. The two operators inside the driving cabinet died. The other accident involved the failure of a passenger hoist installed at a construction site at North Point. The cage of the hoist plunged from the 20th floor, fatally injuring all 12 workers inside. The incidents were thoroughly investigated by the inspectorate in joint efforts with other authorities. The inspectorate also took prompt action to ensure that the construction industry had adopted suitable safety precautionary measures to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents.
The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Noise at Work) Regulations 1992 came into operation in mid-July. It provides better protection for employees engaged in noisy work processes. The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Lifting Appliances and Lifting Gear) (Amendment) Regulations were also enacted in July. The regulations have been extended to cover lifting appliances operating at construction sites, and strengthens the regulatory measures in respect of lifting appliances.
To promote self-regulation, the Safety Programme Promotion Unit helped industries to set up in-plant safety committees. During the year, the unit helped contractors working on the new airport projects to set up 25 management and site safety committees. The unit also assisted managements and workers to identify and assess hazards at work, and to devise their safety and health programmes. A three-day workshop on the national implementation of International Labour Conventions was jointly organised with the International Labour Organisation in February. A symposium on construction safety and health management was also organised for the construction industry in April.
The Factory Inspectorate placed much emphasis on regulatory activities in the high-risk areas of factories and construction sites. Special enforcement campaigns were launched to promote machinery safety, fire prevention and construction safety. During these campaigns, 23 655 factories, 341 restaurants and catering establishments and 1 746 con- struction sites were inspected and 1 483 summonses were taken out. The inspectorate also worked closely with the New Airport Projects Co-ordination Office in setting up various management and working committees to promote safety and health for workers involved in the new airport projects.
The Industrial Safety Training Centre conducted courses for workers, supervisors and managers from various industries. Talks on safety at work were organised for teachers and students of technical institutes, and special talks were arranged with the Education Department as part of the summer job safety promotional activities. The centre also gave safety talks to university and post-secondary students and to various other organisations. In collaboration with the Hong Kong Polytechnic, the centre continued to organise evening courses leading to the award of certificates in industrial safety. It also assisted the