XN000022-1973-10-19 — Page 9

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Friday, October 19, 1973

ONE WORKER INJURED EVERY SEVEN MINUTES

EMPLOYERS URGED TO JOIN GOVT IN PREVENTING ACCIDENTS

One person in Hong Kong is now being injured at work every seven

or eight minutes throughout the working day, the Commissioner of Labour,

Mr. I.R. Price, såld today.

"During the average working day, there will be some 80 such

accidents, some horrifyingly severe in the mutilation they will cause,

he said, "and almost certainly, one will kill."

Mr. Price was officially opening a one-day safety seminar organised

by the Chinese Manufacturers Association and attended by 80 management

representatives from 55 leading Hong Kong firms.

He said this accident rate was taking an incalculable toll in human

suffering, and leaving Hong Kong industry and commerce with a staggering

damage bill each year,

Last year, he said, 296 people were killed and 29,350 injured at

work. The total cost to management of the accidents was well over $200

million.

Mr. Price called on management and workers to form a united front

with the government to fight to prevent accidents at work.

He said that in the past, the Labour Department had been fighting

almost a lone battle in the field of industrial safety.

"Employers, managers and workers have looked too much to

intervention by government, and too little to their own interests,

responsibilities and possible efforts," he said.

"The only