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The Labour Department has urged contractors, employers and employees of factories and industrial undertakings to be more vigilant and check their workplaces as well as take adequate safety precautions before resuming work after the Chinese New Year holidays.
A spokesman for the department said today (February 4) that this was because workplace conditions might have been changed after holidays and safety alertness of both the management and workers might also have diminished.
"The management and workers should take precautionary measures to ensure safety and health at work before resuming industrial activities. When potentially hazardous work processes, machinery and equipment, etc. are involved, the advance checking, preparation and implementation of necessary safety measures are particularly important," he said.
"All scaffolds, working platforms, lifting appliances, gas welding and flame cutting operations, chemical processes, confined spaces and excavations should be inspected by competent persons to ensure that they are in safe conditions before resuming operation or putting them into use again.
"Workers should also be fully advised and instructed to follow safety precautions when working at height and in other hazardous situations," he added.
To prevent accidents, the spokesman urged contractors and employers to exercise more vigilant control of their workplaces to make sure that the workplaces were still safe places of work after holidays.
He said the general duty provisions of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance required employers to provide a safe working environment, a safe plant and a safe system of work for employees. Failing to comply with this requirement, upon conviction, is liable to a maximum fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for six months. On the other hand, employees should co-operate by using safety equipment provided by their employers.
Employers and workers who have any workplace safety problems are welcome to contact the department's occupational safety officers through the safety and health advisory telephone service at 2559 2297.
Ends/Saturday, February 4, 2006
Issued at HKT 11:01
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