These requirements are part of the Factories & Industrial Undertakings (Safety Officers & Safety Supervisors) (Amendment) Regulation 2001 that comes into full operation on that date. A commencement notice of the amendment regulation was gazetted today.

Up to now, the principal regulation applied only to construction sites and shipyards.

The Labour Department expects the employment of safety officers and safety supervisors to improve the container-handling industry's safety performance, in turn enhancing productivity. Many container-handling facilities already employ safety staff and should have no difficulty in complying with the new requirement.

Full-time safety practitioners in the container-handling industry who do not have specified qualifications may apply for registration as safety officers up to a year after the amendment goes into effect in January.

The Commissioner for Labour will consider whether an applicant is fit to be registered according to his education, training, professional experience and skill in industrial safety.

Call the department's Occupational Safety & Health Branch at 2559 2297 for more details.