Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme promotes occupational safety and health

2024-04-28 17:05 Last Updated At：17:18

Recognizing excellence: the impact of the construction industry safety award scheme on workplace safety

The Labour Department (LD) held the 24th Award Presentation Ceremony of the Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme today (April 28) to recognise principal contractors, sub-contractors, site personnel and frontline workers with good performances in the area of occupational safety and health (OSH). The scheme aims at enhancing OSH awareness and fostering a culture of safety in the construction industry.

This year's award scheme received an overwhelming response with participation from 191 construction sites. Among them, 83 sub-contractors and 131 safety teams competed for awards in two categories, namely Construction Sites and Safety Teams. A total of 30 workers were also nominated for the Safe Workers award in the course of assessment. The result of the award scheme will be uploaded onto the LD homepage later. Apart from the award presentation, a fun day was also held today to promote the message of OSH to the industry and the general public.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Commissioner for Labour, Ms May Chan, said that among the 24 fatal industrial accidents that occurred last year, 20 involved the construction industry, indicating that the industry still had the highest OSH risks. The LD will keep close tabs on the OSH standards in the construction industry, and formulate and adjust in a timely manner a multipronged approach in accordance with risk-based principles, including inspection and enforcement, publicity and promotion as well as education and training to boost the OSH culture in preventing accidents.

The ordinance in amending OSH legislation came into effect last year. With regard to extremely serious OSH contraventions, the maximum fines and imprisonment terms were increased to $10 million and two years respectively. The penalties of various summary offences were also raised. Apart from optimising the legislation, the LD will set up Special Task Forces if necessary to conduct rigorous inspections and enforcement actions targeting construction sites accordingly to further strengthen the inspection and enforcement efforts.

Since the amendment ordinance took effect, the LD has unveiled comprehensive publicity work to enhance the promotion of the new penalties. In January this year, the LD collaborated with the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) to produce a special TV programme, namely "Both workers and employers shall abide by the law to ensure occupational safety", to disseminate the message of safeguarding OSH through a concerted effort of employers and employees. In addition, the LD organised the OSH Innovation and Technology Expo with the OSHCin March 2024 to promote the application of innovation and technology in the development of OSH. The LD also introduced the "OSH 2.0" mobile application in the same month, optimising the user interface and adding various new features to provide the latest and more comprehensive OSH information.

In terms of education and training, the LD revised the contents of several mandatory safety training courses, and the revised "Code of Practice (CoP) on Safety Management" and "CoP for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety" were gazetted in February and April this year respectively to ensure that the safety rules are in line with the latest developments of the industry. The LD also plans to launch the revised "Guidance Notes (GN) on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work" in May. The revised GN would be in tandem with the "Extremely Hot Weather" Special Alert of the Hong Kong Observatory to further assist the industry in adopting necessary heat stroke prevention measures. As well, the revised "CoP - Safety and Health at Work in Confined Spaces" is targeted to be launched in about four to five weeks.

Inaugurated in 1999, the Construction Industry Safety Award Scheme is co-organised by the LD with 16 organisations, namely the OSHC, the Development Bureau, the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the Occupational Deafness Compensation Board, the Construction Industry Council, the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board, the Hong Kong Housing Society, the Property Management Services Authority, the Hong Kong Construction Association, the Hong Kong General Building Contractors Association, the Hong Kong Construction Sub-Contractors Association, the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors, the Minor Works Contractor Association, the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies, the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union and the Federation of Hong Kong Electrical and Mechanical Industries Trade Unions.

Hong Kong's Unique Advantages Highlighted at Wealth for Good Summit Gala Dinner

2025-03-26 20:05 Last Updated At：21:08

Speech by FS at Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit Gala Dinner

Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit Gala Dinner today (March 26):

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening. What a pleasure it is to be here again with you tonight.

I am sure you all came away inspired by today's insightful discussions and engaging speakers.

Tonight, let me touch on a recurrent subject that has come up in many of the meetings this week: why Hong Kong and not another city in the region or the Mainland.

Let me explain why.

Under the "one country, two systems" arrangement, Hong Kong is where the China advantage and international advantage converge. For foreign companies seeking to tap the vast consumer market of China and North Asia, Hong Kong is the natural choice.

Take the Greater Bay Area for example. It is home to 87 million people, with a per capita GDP of US$23,000, or US$40,000, on a purchasing power parity basis. Its young population aspires to quality products and services from around the world. It is a massive consumer market. Hong Kong is your gateway to the Mainland market.

At the same time, through the Northbound Connect Schemes, you can also access the Mainland's stocks, bonds, ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and derivatives via Hong Kong, capturing the emerging investment opportunities in an efficient and familiar business and legal environment.

Our country's steady and long-term growth prospects are promising, not to mention breakthroughs in technological innovation. The recent DeepSeek phenomenon has very much spoken for this.

"Deep", indeed, is a key word for Hong Kong's capital markets.

As a leading fund-raising centre, our stock market boasts a capitalisation of US$5 trillion. It raised US$11 billion through IPOs last year, ranking fourth globally. More leading Mainland tech companies are lining up to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This year, we are expecting to raise US$17 to 20 billion in IPOs.

Consider listing your company on our Stock Exchange. Under the Southbound Connect Schemes, you will be able to access both Mainland and international capital here, greatly enhancing the liquidity and valuation of your stock.

Hong Kong is a city of seamless connectivity. Take a high speed train, and you can reach Shenzhen in 15 minutes, and Guangzhou in 45 minutes. Take a morning plane to Beijing or Shanghai, have a whole day of meetings with your business partners, enjoy a nice dinner and fly back. All in a single day.

The Hong Kong International Airport indeed connects 200 destinations with 1 000 flights each day. Half of the world's population is within five hours' reach.

More than business and investments, Hong Kong offers an enviable lifestyle unmatched by other Asian cities.

Our city is home to scenic hills, spectacular hiking trails, stunning beaches and outlying islands. You can walk to our seaside paths and country parks from the very heart of our skyscraper city. And walking in our city is a safe activity. Hong Kong has excellent law and order. It is one of the safest metropolitan cities in the world.

Some 200 Michelin-recommended restaurants are brimming with East and West culinary fare. We don't impose duty on wine. And duty on spirits has also been lowered just recently.

Hong Kong offers the best education for your children. More than 50 international schools operate in this city, providing a wide range of curricula, including American, British, German-Swiss, Japanese, Korean, and even Singaporean - giving you a plenty of choices. And five of our universities rank among the world's top 100.

Above all, Hong Kong is the ideal place for you to nurture your biggest dreams. Here, artistry meets ambition, and possibility becomes legacy.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here, for taking part in this year's Wealth for Good Summit.

I know you will enjoy tonight's Gala Dinner and the good people all about you, including the very special musical entertainment waiting in the wings for me to stop talking.

Allow me now to propose a toast, to raise our glasses in celebration: to health and prosperity, to an evening, and a lifetime, blessed with inspiration. Cheers!