XN000022-1993-06-10 — Page 24

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THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1993

MR LAU CHIN-SHEK (IN CANTONESE): I'D LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION ABOUT WORKING ENVIRONMENT. LAST WEEK AT NORTH POINT, JAVA ROAD, THERE WAS A VERY BAD INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT INVOLVING TWELVE DEATHS AND MR GOVERNOR RACED TO THE SCENE IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS AND HE EMPHASISED THAT HONG KONG'S PROSPERITY SHOULD NOT BE BUILT UPON THE LIFE AND BLOOD' OF OUR WORKERS AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU MR GOVERNOR, WHAT CONCRETE MEASURES AND WHAT EFFECTIVE MEASURES WILL YOU BE TAKING TO IMPROVE INDUSTRIAL SAFETY IN HONG KONG IN A CONCRETE WAY 80 THAT OUR INDUSTRIAL WORKERS CAN WORK IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT?

GOVERNOR: I'D LIKE JUST TO REMIND THE COUNCIL, TO BEGIN WITH, HOW SERIOUS THE PROBLEM IS. WE HAD ABOUT 66 INDUSTRIAL FATALITIES LAST YEAR, 48 OF THOSE FATALITIES WERE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. I THINK I'M RIGHT IN SAYING THAT THERE ARE FIVE TIMES, THERE'S FIVE TIMES AS LARGE A CHANCE OF HAVING AN ACCIDENT IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AS THERE IS IN INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE AND THAT THERE IS A 30 PER CENT CHANCE OF ACTUALLY HAVING AN ACCIDENT IN ANY ONE YEAR IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. NOW THOSE FIGURES ARE SIMPLY NOT ACCEPTABLE IN A CIVILISED COMMUNITY LIKE THIS. IT'S NOT ESSENTIAL IN ORDER TO BUILD, AS WE HAVE TO BUILD IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE OUR RATES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH, TO HAVE PEOPLE RUNNING THOSE SORT OF APPALLING RISKS. WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER IN ORDER TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM. IT IS PARTLY, AS I THINK THE HONOURABLE MEMBER WOULD CONCEDE, A MATTER OF PUBLIC. EDUCATION. IT'S PARTLY A MATTER OF GETTING BOTH EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES SERIOUS ABOUT SAFETY AT WORK. WHY DID PEOPLE CROWD INTO ALREADY OVERCROWDED LIFTS? WELL MAYBE WE'LL LEARN AS A RESULT OF THE INVESTIGATIONS THAT ARE BEING TAKEN FORWARD BUT I STRONGLY SUSPECT THAT THE DAY THAT THAT ACCIDENT TOOK PLACE IN NORTH POINT ONE COULD HAVE FOUND MANY OTHER LIFTS EQUALLY OVERCROWDED IN OTHER PARTS OF THE TERRITORY. SO, PUBLIC EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT, ONE WAY THAT WE'D KNOW THAT PUBLIC EDUCATION WAS ACTUALLY HAVING SOME EFFECT IS IF WHEN WR PASSED CONSTRUCTION SITES WE SAW ALL THOSE WORKING ON THEM WEARING HELMETS WHICH ALAS ISN'T MY EXPERIENCE OR I GUESS THAT OF MANY MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HERE. SECONDLY, WE DO HAVE TO WORK WITH BOTH UNIONS AND EMPLOYERS TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS IN PLACE A SENSIBLE SET OF SAFETY REGULATIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND

IN OTHER INDUSTRIES AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WHERE THOSE REGULATIONS ARE BROKEN, WHERE THOSE REGULATIONS ARE IGNORED, THERE ARE SUBSTANTIAL PENALTIES FOR THOSE WHO IGNORE THEM. THE HONOURABLE MEMBER WILL KNOW THAT THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT, THAT THE COMMISSIONER OF LABOUR, HAS BEEN LOOKING AT PENALTIES WITH A VIEW TO INCREASING A NUMBER OF THEM AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE MUST CARRY FORWARD RATHER MORE ENERGETICALLY, EVEN MORE ENERGETICALLY. SO WE SHALL HAVE TO LOOK AT SAFETY REGULATION AND WE SHALL HAVE TO LOOK AT PUBLIC EDUCATION AND WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT PENALTIES. I HOPE THAT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY WILL MAKE IT CLEAR THAT IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE IN ONE OF THE GREATEST COMMUNITIES IN THE WORLD WITH FIRST WORLD LIVING STANDARDS TO GO SETTLING FOR THIRD WORLD SAFETY STANDARDS AT THE WORKPLACE, THAT NOT AN ACCEPTABLE WAY FOR US TO BEHAVE AND I THINK THAT OVERWHELMINGLY THAT'S THE VIEW OF THIS COMMUNITY.

ON IS

MR

PRESIDENT: IN ACCORDANCE WITH STANDING ORDERS I NOW ADJOURN THIS SITTING UNTIL WEDNESDAY 30TH JUNE,

1993.

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