TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1986
TRIPARTITE EFFORTS NEEDED TO TACKLE INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
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COMMISSIONER FOR LABOUR, MR TONY HAMMOND, SAID INDUSTRIAL SAFETY AND HEALTH HAD BEEN A SUBJECT OF GROWING CONCERN IN HONG KONG IN RECENT YEARS.
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS, HE ADDED, NOT ONLY RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF PRODUCTION, DAMAGE TO PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, BUT HEAVY COMPENSATION COSTS.
+WHAT IS MORE SERIOUS IS THE HUMAN SUFFERING THAT IS CAUSED BY SUCH ACCIDENTS AND THE TRAGIC LOSS OF MANY SKILLED AND EFFICIENT WORKERS THROUGH DEATH AND INJURIES.+
ADDRESSING THE OPENING OF A FORUM ON INDUSTRIAL SAFETY ORGANISED BY THE LABOUR ADVISORY BOARD'S COMMITTEE ON INDUSTRIAL SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION (CISAP) THIS (TUESDAY) EVENING, MR HAMMOND STRESSED THAT TO PREVENT INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS AND TO IMPROVE THE STANDARDS OF SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK, THERE MUST BE CLOSE CO-OPERATION BETWEEN EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES AND THE GOVERNMENT.
ONLY THROUGH SUCH TRIPARTITE COMMITMENT WOULD IT BE ABLE TO TACKLE EFFECTIVELY THE PROBLEM OF ACCIDENTS AT WORK, HE SAID.
IT WAS WITH THIS PRIME OBJECTIVE OF BRINGING TOGETHER REPRESENTATIVES OF EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES, THE GOVERNMENT, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AND PROFESSIONALS TO WORK TOWARDS THE COMMON AIM OF PROMOTING INDUSTRIAL SAFETY AND HEALTH THAT CISAP WAS SET UP IN 1978, HE ADDED.
ALSO OFFICIATING AT THE OPENING CEREMONY WAS THE REGIONAL ADVISER ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FOR THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC REGION OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION (ILO), MR WENYI FU.
MR FU SAID IT WAS GRATIFYING TO NOTE THAT SAFETY TRAINING HAD BEEN SUCCESSFULLY CARRIED OUT AND LARGE-SCALE PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMMES ON INDUSTRIAL SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION LAUNCHED AS PART OF THE TRIPARTITE EFFORTS IN HONG KONG.
HE SAID THAT INDUSTRIAL SAFETY SHOULD BE PROMOTED SYSTEMATICALLY BY INTEGRATED EFFORTS OF ALL PEOPLE CONCERNED.
+USUALLY THE EMPLOYERS' ORGANISATIONS AND THE TRADE UNIONS CAN PLAY A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IF THEY JOINTLY MAKE EFFORTS TO IMPROVE SAFETY, HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT AT THE WORKPLACES, + HE SAID.
HE NOTED
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