ENG-1983 — Page 99

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EMPLOYMENT

The division ensures that injured employees and dependants of deceased employees covered by the Employees' Compensation Ordinance obtain from their employers, without undue delay, compensation in respect of injuries or death caused by accidents or occupational diseases arising out of and in the course of employment. It also ensures that people covered by the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance suffering from silicosis and asbestosis obtain compensation as soon as possible from the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund. The fund is financed by a levy imposed on the construction and quarry industries.

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The Employees' Compensation Ordinance was amended in 1982. All the amendments, except those covering compulsory insurance, came into operation on July 1, 1983. These important legislative changes represent the final stage in the implementation of the recommendations of the working party appointed by the Commissioner for Labour in 1978 to carry out a comprehensive review of the then Workmen's Compensation Ordinance retitled the Employees' Compensation Ordinance in 1980. They include the introduction of a simple certificate system for the settlement of minor claims, the establishment of a two-tier Employees' Compensation Assessment Board; various measures to expedite the processing of employees' compensation cases; and miscellaneous amendments aimed at removing ambiguities and deficiencies, and improving effectiveness. The new provision on compulsory insurance comes into operation on January 1, 1984. All employers will be required to take out insurance policies for the full amount of their liabilities under the ordinance, and independently of the ordinance for any injury sustained by their employees from accidents arising out of and in the course of employment.