ENG-1995 — Page 157

EMPLOYMENT

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Industrial Safety

A comprehensive review on industrial safety was completed and a public consultation paper published in July. The government is implementing the recommendations, the main one being to introduce safety management systems at the company level so as to cultivate a strong safety culture among proprietors and workers and to bring about long term improvements to safety performance.

The Factory Inspectorate Division of the Labour Department enforces the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and its subsidiary regulations. This provides for the safety and health of workers in factories, catering and cargo- handling establishments, building and engineering construction sites and other industrial undertakings. Advice and assistance are given to management on ways of providing and maintaining a safe and healthy working environment. The division also investigates industrial accidents and dangerous incidents.

Regulation 15A of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Lifting Appliances and Lifting Gear) Regulations became effective in January. It requires the owner of cranes and lifting appliances to ensure that operators are competent and hold valid certificates.

Amendments to the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Officers and Safety Supervisors) Regulations came into operation in June. These state that a contractor or proprietor with 100 employees or more in one or more construction - sites or shipyards must employ a safety officer, and must have a safety supervisor in

any construction site or shipyard with 20 or more employees.

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The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Suspended Working Platforms) Regulation became effective in July with the section relating to the requirement on certification of trained operators scheduled for operation six months later. It establishes safety standards relating to the construction and operation of suspended working platforms.

To promote safety management and self-regulation, the Safety Programme Pro- motion Unit helps to set up in-plant safety committees involving employers and employees. By year's end, the unit had helped set up 339 safety committees. The unit also assists management and workers to identify and assess hazards at work, and to devise safety and health programmes.

The Factory Inspectorate emphasises regulatory activities in the high-risk areas of factories, catering establishments and construction sites. Special enforcement campaigns were launched to cover machinery safety, chemical safety, fire prevention and safety on construction sites including those of the airport core projects. During these campaigns, 20 355 factories, 232 catering establishments and 1 196 construction sites were inspected.

The Industrial Safety Training Centre conducts legislative-related safety training courses for workers, supervisors and managers. It gives safety talks to university and post-secondary students and to other organisations. The centre continued to assist the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the City University of Hong Kong to organise evening courses leading to the award of certificates in industrial safety. It also helped the Construction Industry Training Authority to run certificate courses for construction safety officers.