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Employees on overseas assignments protection
Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a reply by the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
(b)
(c)
whether it knows of the respective numbers of local employees on overseas assignments who have sustained injuries or died while at work and not at work over the past three years;
whether local employees on overseas assignments who have sustained injury while not at work are protected by the relevant legislation of the territory; if not, through what channels such employees can obtain compensation; and;
whether the Government will consider making it a statutory requirement for employers to take out additional insurance for their employees on overseas assignments who meet with accidents while not at work?
Reply:
(a)
The number of work-related injury cases outside Hong Kong in the past three years which were reported to the Labour Department is as follows:
Year
Injury Cases
Fatal Cases
Total
1993
(detailed breakdown not available)
734
1994
650
40
690
1995
648
34
682
We have no statistics on injury cases involving local employees while they were outside Hong Kong which are not related to work.