Chapter 4 Safety and Health at Work

The Programme of Safety and Health at Work

www.labour.gov.hk/eng/osh/content.htm

4.1The Occupational Safety and Health Branch is responsible for the promotion and regulation of safety and health at work. The objective of the Programme of Safety and Health at Work is to ensure that risks to people’s safety and health at work are properly managed and reduced to the minimum through the three-pronged strategy of inspection and enforcement, education and training, as well as publicity and promotion. More specifically, we achieve the objective by:

• providing a legislative framework to safeguard safety and health at work;
• enforcing compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OSHO), the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (FIUO), the Boilers and Pressure Vessels Ordinance (BPVO) and their subsidiary regulations through inspection of workplaces to ensure that the requirements are complied with;
• investigating accidents and occupational health problems at workplaces and giving advice to employers and employees on how to reduce existing workplace hazards;
• offering advice to owners in the design and layout of workplaces, and in the implementation of safety programmes in workplaces;
• providing to employers, employees and the general public appropriate information and advice to promote knowledge and understanding of occupational safety and health (OSH); and
• organising promotional programmes and training courses to enhance safety awareness of the workforce.

4.2The OSHO protects employees’ safety and health at work generally in all branches of economic activities. It is a piece of enabling legislation that empowers the Commissioner for Labour to make regulations prescribing standards for general working environment as well as specific safety and health aspects at work.

4.3The FIUO regulates safety and health at work in industrial undertakings, which include factories, construction sites, cargo and container handling areas, as well as catering establishments.

4.4The BPVO aims at regulating the standards and operation of boilers and pressure vessels, including steam boilers, steam receivers and air receivers.

Our Work and Achievements in 2022

Work Safety Performance

4.5Through the concerted efforts of all parties concerned, including employers, employees, contractors, safety practitioners, and the Government and public sector organisations, Hong Kong’s work safety performance has been improving.

4.6The number of occupational injuries in all workplaces in 2022 stood at 32 026, whereas the number in 2013 was 38 027. The injury rate per thousand employees was 11.2 in 2022, and the rate in 2013 was 13.2. The number of industrial accidents for all sectors was 7 762, and the number in 2013 was 11 820. The accident rate per thousand workers for all sectors was 13.5, and the rate in 2013 was 19.6.

4.7In 2022, there were 3 046 industrial accidents in the construction industry, and the number in 2013 was 3 232. The accident rate per thousand workers in 2022 was 29.1, and the rate in 2013 was 40.8.

Occupational Diseases

4.8In 2022, there were 464 confirmed occupational disease and gas poisoning cases. The most common occupational diseases were occupational deafness, silicosis and tenosynovitis of the hand or forearm.

4.9For more statistics on the OSH, please visit the webpage: www.labour.gov.hk/eng/osh/content10.htm.

Key Indicators of Work

4.10Some key indicators of work of this programme area are shown in Appendix 4.1.

Inspection and Enforcement

4.11To ensure safety and health at work, we inspect workplaces, monitor health hazards, investigate work accidents and occupational diseases, register and inspect boilers and pressure equipment and advise on measures to control hazards and prevent accidents.

4.12We conduct promotional visits to give advice to employers on the prevention of accidents and encourage them to proactively adopt a self-regulatory approach in managing risks at the workplace. We also conduct enforcement inspections to various workplaces to ensure that duty holders have observed relevant statutory requirements stipulated in safety legislation. We adopt a risk-based approach to adjust the intensity of inspection and enforcement efforts from time to time to effectively combat violations.

4.13In 2022, we continued to place workplaces with poor safety performance under close surveillance. Improvement notices or suspension notices were issued when necessary to secure speedy rectification of irregularities, or to remove imminent risks to lives. In 2022, we also conducted 14 special enforcement operations targeting specific workplace hazards or workplaces with higher risk work processes, including new works; repair, maintenance, alteration and addition (RMAA) works; electrical works; bamboo scaffolding; sea-based construction works; tower crances; catering; waste management works; logistic, cargo and container-handling industries as well as fire and chemical safety. In these 14 operations, a total of 15 150 workplaces were inspected, with 1 355 improvement notices and 63 suspension notices issued to duty holders, and 937 prosecutions initiated. Besides, we launched 30 in-depth surprise inspections to work sites with higher risk processes or poor safety performance. A total of 915 suspension/improvement notices were issued and 319 prosecutions were initiated. In order to enhance safety performance of public work projects, representatives of the LD participated in 343 site safety management committee meetings of public work projects and provided safety advice, particularly on work processes with relatively high risk, to the contractors and relevant duty holders.

4.14We conduct investigations into complaints concerning unsafe conditions or malpractices in workplaces. In 2022, we handled 200 complaints lodged by workers and initiated 11 prosecutions arising from investigation of these cases. Through the intelligence reporting system on unsafe RMAA works developed with various strategic partners, a total of 5 959 complaint/referral cases were received. As a result of the follow-up inspections on these referral cases, we issued 183 suspension/improvement notices and took out 93 prosecutions.

4.15To enable the conduct of inspections in a more targeted manner, the LD established an online OSH complaint platform to facilitate employees and members of the public to report unsafe working conditions using mobile electronic devices, so that the LD can conduct prompt follow-up actions. In 2022, the LD received a total of 1 066 OSH complaints through the platform. A total of 20 suspension notices and 198 improvement notices were issued and 117 prosecutions were/will be taken out by the LD upon discovery of breaches of OSH legislation from the above complaints.

4.16In 2022, the LD continued to collaborate with the property management sector to implement the referral mechanism for RMAA works carried out in individual units of estates. Responsible property management personnel would notify the LD prior to the commencement of some high risk works (e.g. truss-out scaffolding works at external wall), thus enabling the LD to conduct targeted safety inspections in a timely manner.

4.17In 2022, the LD continued to carry out enforcement operations and publicity campaigns targeting outdoor workplaces with a higher risk of heat stroke. These workplaces include construction sites, outdoor cleansing workplaces, horticulture workplaces and container yards. In the special enforcement operation from April to September, we conducted a total of 26 094 surprise inspections and issued 97 warnings.

4.18Targeting health risks of standing at work, the LD conducted inspections at workplaces of various industries in 2022, including those of the catering, retail, property management and hotel industries. The LD conducted 219 surprise inspections in these workplaces and issued one warning.

4.19The Commissioner for Labour, as the Boilers and Pressure Vessels Authority, recognises competent inspection bodies to assess and inspect new pressure equipment during manufacturing. In addition, the LD conducts examinations, monitors courses for training of competent persons and issues certificates of competency to qualified candidates as competent persons for various types of boilers and steam receivers. In 2022, 488 applications for certificates of competency were processed, with 484 certificates issued/endorsed. We also advised the Fire Services Department on matters related to the approval and preliminary inspections of pressurised cylinders and storage installations for compressed gas.

4.20As at end-2022, the LD recorded a total of 238 501 workplaces, including 32 082 construction sites. In the year, 121 448 inspections were conducted under the OSHO, the FIUO and their subsidiary regulations. As a result, 25 921 warnings and 4 812 suspension or improvement notices were issued. Besides, 4 669 inspections were made under the BPVO. 2 426 warnings were given and 14 prohibition orders on the use and operation of boilers and pressure vessels were issued. We also carried out 16 673 and 2 541 investigations on work accidents and suspected occupational diseases/occupational health problems respectively. We also conducted 5 598 occupational hygiene surveys on workplace health hazards.

Education and Training

4.21We provide training-related services to employers, employees and relevant parties to foster an OSH culture among the working population. They include provision of training courses, recognition of Mandatory Safety Training (MST) courses and registration of safety officers and safety auditors.

4.22In 2022, we organised 645 safety and health training courses related to relevant legislation for 8 943 employees and 225 tailor-made talks to individual industries or organisations for another 39 765 persons. We also recognised ten mandatory basic safety training courses (commonly known as “green card” courses) for construction and container-handling work, one MST course for confined space operation and one MST course for operators of loadshifting machine. We also continued to refine the MST courses, and commenced review regarding the mandatory basic safety training course (construction work) and MST courses of confined spaces operation, with a view to raising workers’ awareness of the causes and risks of accidents and their ability to eliminate these risks in order to prevent accidents. We have a system in place to monitor these MST courses. We conducted different modes of monitoring inspections, including surprise inspections and covert inspections which involved inspecting officers in the guise of a course participant, to ensure that the courses were delivered in accordance with the course contents.

4.23In 2022, we registered 142 persons as safety officers and 85 as safety auditors. As at the end of the year, there were 4 110 safety officers with valid registration and 1 579 registered safety auditors. Furthermore, a total of 1 146 applications for renewal or revalidation of registration as safety officers were approved in 2022.

4.24Occupational health education raises employers’ and employees’ awareness of the prevention of occupational health hazards and occupational diseases. In 2022, we organised a total of 858 health talks on various occupational health issues for over 47 970 participants. Apart from open health talks, we also conducted outreaching health talks at the workplaces of individual organisations. These health talks covered various occupations with more than 40 different topics such as Occupational Health for Office Workers, Manual Handling Operations and Prevention of Back Injuries, Occupational Health for Cleansing Workers, Prevention of Lower Limb Disorders and Occupational Health in Catering Industry. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the health talks were conducted online in 2022 so that employers and employees could continue to participate in them.

4.25The LD uploaded Work Safety Alerts and Systemic Safety Alerts on the LD’s website respectively to help raise the safety awareness of employers, contractors and workers and to urge Registered Safety Officers and Registered Safety Auditors to apply safety management principles in exercising their statutory functions to advise their employers/clients to fulfill their safety responsibilities and render the necessary assistance. Work Safety Alerts summarised recent fatal and serious work accidents, and highlighted general safety precautionary measures whereas Systemic Safety Alerts provided accident prevention measures arising from the major systemic problems. In 2022, the LD produced Systemic Safety Alerts including “fall through floor openings”, “power-operated elevating working platforms safety”, “demolition work safety” and “machinery safety of waste recycling industry”. In 2022, we continued to produce Work Safety Alerts in the form of animation videos to enable the industry to better comprehend how accidents happened and the necessary precautionary measures to be taken for preventing recurrence of similar accidents. Two animation videos on various topics, including machinery safety and work on building balcony safety, were uploaded to the LD’s website and widely disseminated through different channels. Furthermore, the LD continued to translate sub-titles of the Work Safety Alerts animation videos into different languages (including Hindi, Nepali, Tagalog and Urdu) to facilitate construction workers of diverse races to comprehend the OSH information.

Publicity and Promotion

4.26We held a series of promotional campaigns in 2022 to heighten safety awareness among employers and employees and to cultivate a positive safety culture at the workplaces, with some jointly organised with relevant stakeholders such as the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC), trade associations, workers’ unions and other government departments.

4.27In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, we suspended the “Catering Industry Safety Award Scheme” in 2022. In order to continue to urge the catering industry to take practical safety measures and improve working environment to reduce accident risks, we launched the “Catering Industry Safety Promotional Campaign 2022/2023”. The Campaign comprised the “Safety Quiz Competition” and the “Catering Industry Safety Video Competition” , and focal promotion of the five catering safety animations. The five animations, themed safe use of machinery, manual handling operations, burn prevention, slip prevention and cut prevention were uploaded to the LD’s website and disseminated through different channels including mobile media, TV panels of catering establishments and outdoor LED display panels. With regard to the construction industry, the LD in collaboration with the OSHC and related organisations in the construction industry organised the “Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme 2022/2023” to raise the safety and health awareness of contractors, personnel and workers of construction sites, foster a positive safety culture; and encourage the adoption of safe work practices. The LD also organised an open competition to recognise contractors, site personnel, frontline foremen and workers for their good OSH performances, with a view to enhancing public understanding on construction safety.

4.28The LD, in collaboration with the OSHC, launched a two-year publicity campaign in 2022 for heightening the publicity and promotion targeting new works and RMAA works. Through a wide range of initiatives, for examples, lunchtime on-site safety talks, seminars, sponsorship schemes, roving exhibitions, etc., we seek to reach different stakeholders of new works and RMAA works, including contractors and workers, in particular the new comers, workers of diverse races and property owners, etc., to raise their work safety and health awareness.

4.29Accidents in RMAA works have become a source of concern in recent years. With a view to reminding contractors and workers to pay extra attention to safety while carrying out truss-out scaffolding work and working at height, the LD in collaboration with the OSHC launched three safety webinars on truss-out scaffolding and floor opening protection, suspended working platform and housekeeping at workplaces for safety in July and December 2022 respectively. Other major publicity activities included broadcasting APIs on television/radio/mobile media, staging roving exhibitions, publishing feature articles in newspapers and on the LD’s website, publishing leaflets and disseminating safety messages to contractors, employers and employees through various means.

4.30The LD continued to step up targeted promotion work in relation to work-at-height and work-above-ground safety in 2022. These included broadcasting Work Safety Alerts on publicity platforms of public transportation and through websites and mobile applications frequently visited and used by workers, producing and distributing safety banners to construction sites, displaying safety messages on post boxes, at roadsides, on footbridges, on external walls of government buildings, at tunnels’ entrances, in Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department, on external LED display panels of shopping malls. The LD also broadcast radio advertisements by celebrities on race days and displayed occupational safety and health messages at the LD’s homepage and via the social media of the OSHC such as its Facebook.

4.31In light of several accidents that happened in 2021 which workers had fallen to death from residential buildings while they were carrying out work-above-ground near permanent railings, the LD launched a new set of TV and radio APIs in January 2022 focusing on work-above-ground safety which is seemingly simple but easily ignored by employers and workers. Moreover, in collaboration with OSHC, we engaged media partners to produce a total of 11 promotional videos related to truss-out scaffold safety, targeting not only contractors and workers but also property owners and tenants. The promotional videos introduced in a comprehensible manner the basic safety measures for bamboo scaffolding works and possible issues facing the property owner after an accident.

4.32In the aspect of occupational health, the LD also collaborated with OSHC and other relevant organisations, including the Occupational Deafness Compensation Board, the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board, employers’ associations, trade unions and community groups, in promoting occupational health as well as prevention of occupational diseases (e.g. occupational deafness and pneumoconiosis) and work-related diseases (e.g. musculoskeletal disorders which are common among workers of service industry, clerical personnel and manual workers). This was achieved through a variety of activities such as organising occupational health award, holding health talks and distributing promotional materials, etc. We also continued to co-organise the “Joyful@Healthy Workplace” programme and the “Mental Health Workplace Charter” with the Department of Health and the OSHC, and encouraged employers to participate in the programmes, in order to promote a health-friendly working environment and foster physical and mental well-being of employees.

4.33In view of the increasingly hot weather in recent years, the LD stepped up publicity on the prevention of heat stroke at work through a multitude of activities such as organising public and outreaching health talks, distributing publications and promotional posters, showing educational videos and displaying advertisements on mobile advertising media, and issuing press releases. In addition, from April to September 2022, we collaborated with the OSHC again to launch a large-scale promotion campaign on heat stroke prevention. Through distribution of heat stroke prevention items and extensive publicity, the campaign reminded employers and employees to prevent heat stroke at work. The Portable Waist Fan Sponsorship Scheme for SMEs was also relaunched to sponsor SMEs of the targeted industries to purchase portable and safety compliant waist fans for employees’ use at work as necessary.

4.34Moreover, in order to reduce the risk of gas poisoning in sewer maintenance works, the LD published the “Guidance Notes on Safety and Health for Prevention of Gas Poisoning in Drainage Works” in October 2022 to provide practical guidance to proprietors, contractors and workers engaged in drainage works to prevent the occurrence of gas poisoning accidents when workers are carrying out such works. In addition, the LD and OSHC jointly organised the “Confined Space Work Safety and Health Forum” and launched the Occupational Safety and Health Star Enterprise (Confined Spaces) Accreditation Scheme in June 2022. Through providing free safety training courses on confined space works to workers of participating enterprises; subsidising enterprises to buy safety equipment; as well as providing free consultancy services and audits on the safety management system, the Scheme aims to improve the OSH standard of the participating enterprises in confined space works.

4.35In 2022, the LD published 36 revised/new OSH publications, including “A Guide to the Factories & Industrial Undertakings (Woodworking Machinery) Regulations”, “Code of Practice on Mechanical Handling Safety in Container Yards”, “Guidance Notes on Safety and Health for Prevention of Gas Poisoning in Drainage Works”, “Work and Common Disease Series - Do You Know about Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases?”, “Work-related disease series – Lower Limb Varicose Vein”, “Work-related disease series – Plantar Fasciitis”, “Occupational Health in Catering Industry”, “Guidance Notes on Medical Examinations for Workers engaged in Hazardous Occupations in Industrial Undertakings”, “Occupational Disease Casebook - Tenosynovitis of the hand or forearm”, “Work-related Disease Series - Osteoarthritis of Knee”, “Work and Common Gastrointestinal Diseases”, “Electric Shock” notice, “Good Ventilation Eliminates Toxic Fumes” poster, “Dangerous Parts of Machinery or Plant” poster and “Prevent Heat Stroke When Working in a Hot Weather (Transportation Workers)” poster for promoting work safety and health.

4.36In respect of lifting safety, the LD published a brand-new “Accident Casebook on Lifting Operation” in 2022 which analyses the cause of common lifting accident cases at construction sites and suggests feasible safety measures. A new module and e-Quiz on safe lifting operation were added to the Occupational Safety and Health e-Quiz platform of the LD’s website to facilitate interactive teaching by contractors during their morning briefings or safety training. The LD also published a brand-new “Guide on Construction and Work Safety of Truss-out Bamboo Scaffolds” to explain the basic requirements for the structure and work safety of “common truss-out bamboo scaffolds” and “special truss-out bamboo scaffolds” in the same year.

4.37Besides, we published four OSH publications in six languages (Indonesian, Hindi, Nepali, Tagalog, Thai and Urdu), namely “Guidance Notes on Prevention of Trapping Hazard of Tail Lifts”, “Demarcate lifting zones and display enclosure notices properly” poster, “Always check the loading Don’t overload cranes” poster and “Prevent Heat Stroke When Working in a Hot Weather (construction worker)” poster, with a view to enhancing the safety awareness of workers of diverse race.

4.38In 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Branch handled 8 441 enquiries, advising on various safety and health matters. Furthermore, the Occupational Safety and Health Centre provides information and advisory services to employers and workers.

4.39The LD collaborated with the property management sector to promote RMAA work safety and to step up the promotion of work-at-height safety to stakeholders, including contractors and workers, on the use of suitable working platforms instead of ladders for working above ground and the use of safety helmets with chin straps. We collaborated with the OSHC as well as the property management and construction industries to launch the “Promoting the Use of Light-duty Working Platforms Scheme Phase II”. Through the property management companies, step platforms and hop-up platforms (light-duty working platforms) would be lent to the contractors and workers conducting RMAA works in the estates or residential buildings free of charge to encourage them to use light-duty working platforms for above-ground works instead of ladders. More than 600 eligible applications were received with about 1 600 light-duty working platforms provided.

4.40Using straight ladders or A-ladders for work-at-height carries a lot of risk. In the past, there were several fatal accidents which involved workers falling from these ladders. In order to enhance the safety awareness of employers and workers in work-at-height, the LD collaborated with the OSHC to continue with the Enhanced Light-duty Working Platform Sponsorship Scheme for SMEs by subsidising small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to purchase enhanced step platforms and hop-up platforms for above-ground work. As at December 2022, 1 512 applications were received with 1 315 approved, benefiting over 20 920 workers.

4.41The LD collaborated with the OSHC to ride on the Home Affairs Department’s community platforms to promote RMAA work safety particularly work-at-height safety, to owners’ corporations, property owners and tenants, etc.

4.42To promote safety awareness of the industry in operating boilers and pressure vessels, we distributed around 1 925 publications and leaflets regarding registration and safe operation of pressure equipment.

Clinical Occupational Health Services

4.43The LD runs occupational health clinics in Kwun Tong and Fanling, providing clinical consultations, medical treatment as well as occupational health education and counselling services for workers suffering from work-related and occupational diseases. Workplaces of the patients are inspected if necessary to identify and evaluate occupational health hazards in the work environment.

4.44In 2022, 9 177 clinical consultations were rendered. Moreover, patient support groups were organised to help patients achieve more desirable rehabilitation progress through health talks, experience sharing and peer support.