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Subject to certain qualifications such as the size of employment or nature or work, these components should, in varying degrees, be applied by law to different industries covered by the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, it was recommended.
Mr Leung stressed that the adoption of a safety management system should not create significant financial burden on employers.
"Measures such as safety committees, safety audits, and safety training for workers will only add marginally to the overall operating costs of the establishment concerned.
"The additional costs for an effective safety management system will be more than offset by fewer stoppages and disruptions to work arising from industrial accidents," he said.
As a safety management system is a relatively new concept in Hong Kong, the Government, in conjunction with the Occupational Safety and Health Council and other training authorities, will undertake an on-going and enhanced education and training programme to introduce and promote the system to employers and workers.
"We also recognise that not all employers will embrace the self-regulation approach immediately. We therefore propose to give additional resources to the Labour Department to step up enforcement efforts to ensure that safety standards will not slip during the time when employers begin to adopt the safety management system in their workplace," he said.
The review was carried out subsequent to one of the policy commitments of the Secretary for Education and Manpower in 1994.
It recommended a wide range of proposals and measures to improve industrial safety standards with strong focus on the construction industry which has the worst industrial record, accounting for over one third of all accidents and the bulk of fatalities.
Mr Leung stressed that the unsatisfactory industrial safety record of Hong Kong was a matter of great concern to the Government, and he appealed to employees, employers, professional bodies and all concerned parties to work closely with the Government to bring about a safe working environment for everybody.
The Education and Manpower Branch welcomes written submissions on the review before the consultation exercise ends at the end of September. Submission should be sent to the Secretary for Education and Manpower at ninth floor, West Wing, Central Government Offices, Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong, or by fax on 2869 0729.
End/Tuesday, July 18, 1995