19
+
Reply:
(c)
(a)
(b)
apart from carrying out inspections, what other measures are in place to ensure that employers provide a safe working environment to employees and to enhance the awareness of industrial safety among workers?
It is the Government's policy to improve Hong Kong's industrial safety standards through legislative changes as well as through enhanced publicity, education and promotion. We constantly review the adequacy of existing safety laws and codes of practice to ensure that the sanctions and standards reflect community expectations, the gravity of the offence and the level of compliance.
As at 21 June 1996, the establishment of factory inspectors stood at 303 against the strength of 258, including 31 under apprenticeship training. The 303 posts include 49 new posts created in May this year. Eight of these new posts have been filled and the remaining vacancies will be filled when the recruitment formalities are completed. At present, 136 officers are engaged in construction site safety, including 10 temporarily redeployed from the factory inspection teams. The remaining 91 are engaged in monitoring safety in manufacturing, shipbuilding, catering, and other industrial establishments.
As regards inspection frequency, different types of construction sites are inspected according to their nature of activity and level of risk, as follows-
Type of sites
(1) Hand-dug caisson
(2) Public Works Programme
(3) Sites with unsatisfactory
(4) Other building or civil
engineering sites
Inspection frequency
sites once every two weeks
once a month sites and Airport Core Programme sites
once a month safety records
once every one to three months
The inspection frequency of manufacturing and other industrial undertakings varies. For more hazardous factory operations, the frequency of inspections ranges from once every three months to twelve months.