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As regards part (b) of the question, the Consultation Paper on the Review of Industrial Safety in Hong Kong which was published in July this year recommended that, as a broad principle, all employees should be protected by safety and health legislation and that it should be achieved in stages. This recommendation was generally supported by the public. Details of the proposed legislation to cover employees in non-industrial sectors are being drawn up and we intend to consult the Labour Advisory Board (LAB) in February 1996. The proposed legislation will include six separate sets of regulations which will lay down minimum safety and health standards in the working environment and regulate certain hazardous processes, equipment, machines and substances.
Our aim is to introduce the draft bill into this Council in June 1996. We also aim to introduce at the same time two sets of draft subsidiary regulations to provide for the general safety and health of the workplace and to regulate manual handling operations. We will consider the timing of introducing the remaining four regulations by phases.
As regards part (c) of the question, waist and back pains and ailments of vision are not compensable occupational diseases at present. Two aliments of the hand are listed as compensable occupational diseases in the Second Schedule of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance. They are cramp of the hand or forearm due to repetitive movements and traumatic inflammation of the tendons of the hand or forearm, or of the associated tendon sheaths. The Labour Department is currently conducting a comprehensive review of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance including the list of compensable occupational diseases. The review, which we hope to complete by the middle of 1996, will consider whether new occupational diseases should be added to the list.