XN000022-1996-06-05 — Page 34

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Having said that, the Government has taken follow-up actions by addressing the key concern behind the motion calling for the establishment of a central EC system, What I which is the need "to give better protection to industrial accident victims". said earlier that to give better protection to industrial accident victims was part of the motion at that time. Let me now give a brief account of what we have done.

First, we have set up the Occupational Deafness Compensation Scheme another collective liability system in addition to the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Scheme, to compensate employees who suffer from noise-induced deafness by reason of their employment.

Secondly, we have completed a comprehensive review of industrial safety and are now implementing the recommendations in stages. For example, we have introduced into this Council the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) Bill which would empower the Commissioner for Labour to issue improvement and suspension notices on safety grounds.

Thirdly, we have taken up the recommendation of the review of industrial safety to engage the insurance industry in promoting safety consciousness among employers and penalising hazardous trades through insurance premium arrangements. In this respect, we have received confirmation from the industry that the insurers have put in place the practice of setting the insurance premia for employees compensation at different levels with due regard to the safety records of individual companies.

Fourthly, we have made substantial improvements to both the Employees Compensation Ordinance (ECO) and the PCO. For instance, we have revised the maximum levels of compensation under the ECO three times since 1993, and have expanded the scope of compensation to cover more occupational diseases and injuries suffered by an employee while travelling between Hong Kong and his place of work outside Hong Kong. Under the PCO, we have introduced the system of monthly payments in place of the previous lump-sum payments to eligible pneumoconiotics and made the compensation for pain, suffering, and loss of amenities a separate compensation item payable to all pneumoconiotics irrespective of their degree of incapacity.