Wednesday, May 16, 1973
$150 MILLION ACCIDENT BILL FOR HK INDUSTRY
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Hong Kong's construction industry can no longer afford to pay
the tremendous cost in life, injuries and hard cash of its soaring accident
rate, Mr. Szeto Wai said today.
He said that last year 65 people were killed on construction
sites a 51 per cent increase over the 1971 figures. Another 4,435 were
injured, 15 per cent more than in the previous year.
Accidents in the industry were now accounting for a quarter of all
industrial accidents throughout Hong Kong, he said.
Last year they cost the construction industry some 130,000 man-days,
and it was estimated that the total bill was in the region of $40 million.
Mr. Szeto, Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council and one
of Hong Kong's best-known architects and engineers, was officially opening
a one-day conference on Accident Prevention in the Construction Industry
at the Labour Department's Industrial Safety Training Centre in Canton
Road Government Offices Building, Kowloon.
the first of its kind jointly sponsored by the
The conference
Labour Department and a major insurance company
-
was arranged by the
Industrial Safety Training Centre and Jardine Insurance.
About 40 senior management representatives from leading Hong
Kong construction companies took part.
Szeto said the conference aimed at encouraging the management of
construction companies to reduce the accident toll by implementing strict safety
measures on worksites.
/He pointed