The Labour Department will enhance inspection, law enforcement and safety promotion on truss-out scaffolding.

The move is to ensure contractors and workers understand that good management in the design, construction and demolition of scaffolding is vital for a safe work environment.

The department will also remind contractors, building management and mutual aid committees to be extra cautious when renovating external walls.

Speaking at the opening of the Scaffolding Safety Seminar, Permanent Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Matthew Cheung said many of the serious accidents in the renovation of external walls of buildings involved the use of truss-out scaffolding.

He said there were three fatal accidents recently involving medium and small sized contractors or self-employed workers.

"With the concerted efforts of the Government and the construction industry in managing scaffolding work, the safety standards of the industry can be improved and the number of accidents minimised," Mr Cheung said.

To ensure compliance with safety laws, he said the department conducted two special operations in the second half of this year to inspect construction sites, especially those with high-risk work procedures.

He said the construction industry has achieved remarkable safety improvements in recent years.

The number of accidents in the first half of the year fell 34%, from 3,223 to 2,141, and the accident rate per 1,000 workers also fell by 20%, from 83 to 66, over the same period last year.

However, he said fatal cases were rising. At the end of November, provisional figures indicated the number of fatal cases had increased 14% from 22 to 25 compared with the same period last year.

The Construction Sites (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 was approved by the Legislative Council on November 26.

It stipulates that, apart from principal contractors, appointed sub-contractors should also be held responsible for breaches of the regulation during the construction process.

"With this amended regulation, we hope that contractors and sub-contractors can stay alert and understand that they have to comply with safety laws to improve overall safety performance," Mr Cheung said.