Labour Department to keep up improvements in safety performance 

The total number of industrial accidents in the first half of this year decreased by 5.8 per cent while the accident rate per thousand workers had reduced by 5.2 per cent when compared with the same period in 1999. 

Speaking at a ceremony to sign the Occupational Safety Charter with Jardine Air Terminal Services Limited today (October 18), the Commissioner for Labour, Mrs Pamela Tan Kam Mi-wah, said that this illustrated the sustained improvements in safety performance over the territory. 

"However, we must not be complacent and must keep up our efforts to improve the situation," she said.

Mrs Tan said that although the Safety Charter was not a legal document, it brought out the very important message that safety at work was a "Shared Responsibility" by employers, employees and the Government.

"This means that employers should shoulder the primary responsibility of providing a safe work environment, and employees should render full co-operation with employers to ensure their own safety and that of others." 

"The Government, for its part, will foster a safe and healthy work environment through the enactment and enforcement of legislation, supplemented by advice, training, education, publicity and promotion," she added.

"It is only through a spirit of co-operation that we can create a safety culture and benefit from a shared responsibility," she stressed.

Mrs Tan noted that the Jardine Air Terminal Services Limited had shown a strong commitment to the safety and health of its 700 employees at work, while pursuing excellence in the standard of its service. 

"By subscribing to the Safety Charter, the company has re-affirmed its commitment to occupational safety and health.  It has also set an excellent example for other enterprises to follow," she said.

The signing of the Occupational Safety Charter by Jardine Air Terminal Services Limited brought the total number of signatories to 450.  These include Government departments, major employer bodies, employee organisations and professional bodies.

Launched by the Labour Department in 1996, the Charter aims to encourage employees and employers to joins hands in creating a safe workplace environment and ensure employees' safety and health.