Labour Department extremely worried about deadly work mishap that took place in Kowloon City today
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The Labour Department (LD) is extremely worried about a deadly work mishap that occurred at a building and construction website in Kowloon City this afternoon (August 3), where a male worker fell from an edge of a roofing system of a structure under modification throughout his work. He was licensed dead later on in medical facility. The LD is distressed by death of the employee and reveals its inmost compassion to his household.
The LD’s representative stated, “We commenced an immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident and issued suspension notices to the contractors concerned, suspending the use of the roof of the building under alteration. The contractors cannot resume the work process until the LD is satisfied that suitable measures to abate the relevant risks have been taken.”
The representative included, “We will complete the investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation.”
To avoid employees from falling while operating at height, the LD advises companies to take appropriate preventive steps, consisting of supplying employees with appropriate and appropriate safe ways of access to and egress from working areas, and guaranteeing that all hazardous edges are appropriately and firmly enclosed. If the arrangement of those steps is not practicable, companies need to supply ideal full-body harnesses to employees, which must be connected constantly to ideal and safe and secure anchor points or independent lifelines with fall apprehending system so regarding secure employees’ work-at-height security.
The basic task arrangements of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance need companies to supply safe workplace, plant and systems of work for their staff members. Those who contravene the appropriate arrangements are responsible to an optimum fine of $10 million and jail time for 2 years.
In regard to today’s mishap, the LD will release a Work Safety Alert through its mobile application “OSH 2.0″site and e-mail, offering a short account of the mishap worried to task holders, employees’ unions, expert bodies of security professionals and others, and advising the market of the value of following security preventive steps to avoid a reoccurrence of comparable mishaps.
The LD will likewise advise the company worried of the liability for staff members’ settlement under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, help relative of the deceased to declare workers’ settlement and carefully act on the case. For those with monetary troubles, the LD will help them to request proper emergency situation funds. Topic to the requirements and desires of member of the family of the departed, the LD will likewise communicate with the Social Welfare Department for monetary or other support.
For the sake of protecting the security and health of workers at work, the LD attract companies to offer plant and systems of work that are safe and without threats to health. Workers must likewise co-operate with their companies, embrace all precaution and utilize individual protective devices offered correctly to prevent threatening their own work security which of other employees.