Editorial | Impressive buildings in Hong Kong must not come at the cost of worker safety
Employers, workers and the authorities have a responsibility to reduce the growing number of Hong Kong industrial accidents
A widely shared warning about workplace safety describes incidents as the “tip of the iceberg” of much larger problems. Seeing yet more industrial accidents in Hong Kong has only deepened concerns that industry and regulatory officials are failing to navigate the city towards a comprehensive work-safety culture.
Last Monday, 11 workers were injured, one critically, when a bamboo structure collapsed at a hospital construction site in Kai Tak. One had been left hanging from the scaffolding by their hands and had their feet caught in the bamboo. Another worker was seen holding on tight to avoid falling while a colleague landed on the edge of a nearby building, face down and unresponsive.
Only weeks earlier, a worker was crushed to death by a large glass panel at a construction site in West Kowloon in the latest of nearly two dozen deadly industrial accidents logged over the past 12 months.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han on Tuesday pledged citywide safety inspections of large-scale scaffolding projects and to hold a stakeholder conference to look at reducing risks. Then, only hours after he spoke, three more people were hurt at a construction site in Lam Tin after an excavator rolled down a slope.
Inspections, job site suspensions and punishment for those found responsible for violations have been repeatedly ordered – yet incidents continue. A workers’ representative recently noted that government inspectors cannot supervise sites around the clock. Laws that say employers who fail to provide a safe working environment are liable to fines and imprisonment also seem sadly inadequate.
As we have argued several times, stronger action to instil greater awareness of safety at all levels is desperately needed. Recent promotions and education drives regarding the protection of workers at sites as well as the promised risk-reduction conference are important, but the message about safety being the concern of everyone must sink in, and soon.
