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Gondola regulation effective in protecting workers
The regulation governing the safe use of suspended working platforms, commonly known as gondolas, has proved to be effective in protecting workers' safety, the Chief Factory Inspector of the Labour Department, Mr Chan Tat-king said today (Friday).
Mr Chan made this comment in the wake of a gondola incident occurred yesterday (Thursday) afternoon in which two cleaners were rescued by firemen after the gondola in which they were working slipped, tilted and stopped in the upper floors of a building in Wan Chai.
He was pleased that the two workers escaped fatal injuries as both wore a safety harness. However, he noted that one of the cleaners had reportedly attached his safety harness to the gondola.
"Like his colleague, this worker should have connected his safety harness to an independent lifeline which serves as a back-up safeguard for him even when the whole gondola fails for one reason or another," he said.
The Chief Factory Inspector said that since the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Suspended Working Platforms) Regulation became effective in July this year, a number of workers had been saved from being thrown out of the tilting gondolas they were using.
"These incidents indicated that fatal accidents could be avoided if proper safety measures are taken by workers when working at height with machines or in potentially dangerous places," he said.
Mr Chan also urged gondola owners to observe various provisions stipulated in the Regulation so as to eliminate risks at source.
Under the gondola regulation, the owner of a suspended working platform must ensure its good design and construction as well as the proper functioning of all its working mechanisms during operation.
Proprietors breaching specific provisions under the gondola regulation will face a maximum fine of $200,000 and 12 months imprisonment. Workers violating the provision on the wearing of safety belts may be fined up to $50,000.
Friday, November 17, 1995