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Employment
In 2015, there were 35,852 occupational injuries, a drop of 23.6 per cent from the 46,937 cases a decade ago. Over the same period, the number of industrial accidents fell from 17,286 to 11,497, a decrease of 33.5 per cent. In 2015, a total of 256 cases of occupational diseases were confirmed, including monaural hearing loss.
Inspection and Enforcement
The Labour Department inspects workplaces regularly to ensure compliance with occupational safety and health laws, particularly in high-risk industries and work processes such as work-at- height activities, and organisations with poor safety records. The department also conducts special enforcement operations targeting accident-prone workplaces and trades, such as new works construction sites, repair, maintenance, alteration and addition works sites, waste treatment workplaces, logistics, cargo and container handling workplaces, and food and beverages services activities. It steps up enforcement in the summer to protect outdoor workers from heat strokes.
In 2015, the department served 2,340 Improvement Notices on companies and organisations, ordering them to improve safety conditions in their workplaces promptly, and 805 Suspension Notices to stop those work activities or the use of plant or substances that posed imminent risks of death or serious bodily injury to employees. The courts heard 2,603 cases, convicting the defendants in 78 per cent of these and handing down penalties totalling $21.81 million.
Promotion and Education
The Labour Department, in collaboration with the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC), major trade associations and the labour unions concerned, organised promotional campaigns to enhance the occupational safety and health awareness of employers and employees in different industries through seminars, roving exhibitions, outreach promotional visits, and television and radio broadcasts. The department held a Work-at-height Safety Forum cum Safety Equipment Exhibition and thematic work safety seminars to enhance relevant occupational safety standards. It continued to promote the Occupational Safety Charter and Workplace Hygiene Charter, which urge employers and employees to maintain a safe and healthy environment at their workplaces, and organised safety award schemes for the construction and catering industries.
In 2015, the department held 2,106 courses, lectures and health talks for some 71,400 employees to help them better understand occupational safety and health and the relevant laws. It continued to collaborate with organisations including the OSHC, the Construction Industry Council, employers' associations and workers' unions to promote healthy living for professional drivers, publicise heat stroke prevention measures in construction sites and other outdoor workplaces, and promote the prevention of lower limb musculoskeletal disorders to the catering and retail industries.
Occupational Health Clinics
The department provides occupational health services to workers at its occupational health clinics in Kwun Tong and Fanling. It held 9,054 clinical consultations with workers in 2015.
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