XN000022-1995-12-06 — Page 13

Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) (Amendment) Bill

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, in moving the second reading of the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) (Amendment) Bill 1995 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

I move the Second Reading of the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) (Amendment) Bill 1995.

The Bill seeks to make a number of improvements to the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Scheme following a review of the scheme we completed earlier this

year.

First, we propose to introduce a separate compensation item for pain, suffering and loss of amenities (PSLA) at $2,100 per month and to provide that all eligible pneumoconiotics under the Scheme will receive the same monthly compensation payment of $2,100 irrespective of their degree of incapacity assessed under the Scheme. Currently, the amount of $2,100 is included in the compensation formula without being specified as compensation for PSLA but the actual amount payable is calculated according to the degree of incapacity. As a result, only about 3.5% of the total number of pneumoconiotics assisted under the Scheme can receive the full amount of $2,100. This proposal will be a substantial improvement to the Scheme in that all eligible pneumoconiotics will be able to receive the full amount of $2,100 as compensation for PSLA. This includes more than half of the pneumoconiotics who opted into the Scheme after it was last amended in 1993, but who could not receive any part of $2,100 because they had been assessed to have suffered no additional degree of incapacity.