XN000022-1996-07-03 — Page 42

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For both construction sites and factories, special inspections are conducted in response to complaints or arising from major accidents. Special campaigns are also launched each year, in addition to the scheduled inspections, to tackle seasonal hazards such as fire prevention during the dry months, and scaffolds and temporary works during the wet summer months.

An integral part of the current safety control system is to encourage employers, professionals, safety practitioners and workers to be made more aware of what constitutes a safe working environment and safe practices through training, education and promotion. The Labour Department conducts various types of legislation-related briefing sessions and train-the-trainer courses for the industrial sector, whereas the Occupational Safety and Health Council runs safety awareness, occupational health and management training courses for various sectors. Both organisations publish safety booklets, guides, posters etc. and publicise safety messages and best practices through the media.

After consulting the Panel on Manpower of the Legislative Council, we will publish around August 1996 a Charter for Safety in the Workplace. The Charter will set out the rights of workers to enjoy a safety working environment and the employers' obligations to reduce the risks of accidents. It will also highlight the workers' obligations to follow safety instructions and to co-operate with the relevant authorities in reporting breaches of statutory requirements.

As part of an overall effort to improve safety at the workplace, the Administration will introduce several Bills into the Legislative Council in the 1996-97 legislative session. These will cover, among other things, work safety in confined spaces and construction sties, as well as the provision of a safety management system at the workplace.

A detailed description of the Government's existing and proposed measures to improve work safety is set out in the speech given by the Secretary for Education and Manpower in the Legislative Council during the motion debate on industrial safety on 26 June 1996.