Inspection has been stepped up to ensure occupational safety of property maintenance and renovation, with more than 60 prosecutions made against unlawful cases from March last year to May this year, Permanent Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Matthew Cheung says.

Mr Cheung said there have been a number of serious industrial accidents related to small projects in recent years, involving workers falling from bamboo scaffolds at height, workers inhaling toxic gases in manholes and a worker who died of electric shock at work.

"These small projects are very often completed within a short period of time and involve only a few workers. Also, they are not required to report to the department or to deploy safety officers or safety supervisors. The occupational safety and health conditions of these small projects, especially property maintenance and renovation projects, are a matter of concern," he added.

Tougher enforcement

To prevent the occurrence of accidents in small projects, the Labour Department has enhanced inspection of property maintenance and renovation worksites from last year. Strict enforcement has also been taken to prosecute offending contractors on the spot and issuing suspension notices or improvement notices.

In addition, the department set up a system with the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies last year for reporting high-risk property renovation and maintenance projects carried out in buildings under their management to the department's occupational safety officers for follow-up action.

In May, the department received over 410 reports about work safety on property renovation and maintenance projects, with more than 150 cases involving external building renovation works using bamboo scaffolding. Prosecutions were launched against more than 60 unlawful cases.

"Apart from strengthening inspection and prosecution action for small renovation and maintenance projects, we will enhance publicity and promotion and provide safety guidelines for contractors to create a safe work environment.

"Once those responsible for small projects are aware of the importance of risk assessment and the formulation of related safety measures before the start of work, and offer adequate training, instruction and supervision for workers, the number of accidents will be minimised substantially," he added.

The safety performance of the construction industry has been improving. There were 677 industrial accidents in this year's first quarter, down 13% over a year earlier. The accident rate per 1,000 workers also fell 10.4%, from 47.1 to 42.2.