134 Employment
construction industry, accidents recorded a substantial decrease of 68.7 per cent from 9 206 in 2001 to 2 884 in 2010. In 2010, a total of 229 cases of occupational diseases were confirmed, representing a cumulative fall of 46.7 per cent from the 430 cases in 2001. The most common occupational diseases were silicosis, occupational deafness and tenosynovitis (inflammation of a tendon sheath) of the hand or forearm.
Enforcement
The Labour Department inspects workplaces regularly to ensure compliance with occupational safety and health laws, particularly in the case of high-risk. industries and organisations with poor safety records. Besides routine inspections, the department conducts special enforcement campaigns targeting accident-prone industries and work situations.
Such campaigns were carried out during the year, focusing on building repair and maintenance, construction, catering, cargo and container handling, scaffolding safety, lift maintenance and repair works, safe use of electricity, use of fork-lift trucks in waste recycling industry, as well as fire and chemical safety.
Following an industrial accident in September 2009, in which six workmen fell to their death from a platform in a lift shaft, the department worked with the Construction Industry Council and other stakeholders to develop practical safety guidelines for the industry. The first set of guidelines was released in July 2010, focusing on the safety of site personnel working near or inside a lift shaft during the construction stage and before handing over to the lift installation contractor. The department also takes enforcement actions, as necessary, to secure compliance with relevant statutory requirements.
The department stepped up its enforcement measures during the hot months. between April and September to ensure that people working in places such as construction sites, outdoor cleansing workplaces and container yards are protected adequately from heat stroke.
As a result of the outbreak of Human Swine Influenza A/H1N1 (or swine flu) in 2009, the department continued to strengthen inspection at workplaces where the risk of infection is high, such as hospitals, clinics, and elderly homes to ensure proper infection control measures were in place to protect the employees there. The department resumed normal inspection of those places after the influenza pandemic 'Alert' level was lowered in May.
During the year, the department served 1 363 Improvement Notices on companies and organisations requiring them to enhance safety conditions at workplaces promptly, and 110 Suspension Notices on those where work activities or the use of plant or substances posed imminent risks of death or serious bodily injury to employees.
A total of 1 849 cases were heard in court which handed down fines totalling $13 million. The defendants in almost 85 per cent of the cases were convicted.
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