Although Hong Kong's occupational safety and health performance has improved substantially over the past decade, work injuries have recently increased, Permanent Secretary for Economic Development & Labour Matthew Cheung says.

In the first half of this year, the Labour Department recorded 22,195 cases of occupational injuries, up 8.4% on the 20,467 cases in the same period last year. During this period, the accident rate per 1,000 employees also increased, by 5.9%, from 16.5 to 17.5.

Speaking at a safety charter signing ceremony of the Tsuen Wan Safe & Healthy Community today, Mr Cheung said he is concerned with the resurgent trend in work injuries.

"The recovery of Hong Kong's economy led to an increase in employment and economic activities this year. Consequently, the number of work injuries has increased.

"I hope that employers and employees in all sectors will raise their awareness and adopt appropriate measures to reduce work accidents," Mr Cheung said.

Today, 64 organisations in Tsuen Wan signed an occupational safety charter, undertaking to improve work safety and health.

"Through signing the charter, the management and the staff can make reference to their working environment to work out appropriate safety policies and measures. Their safety awareness on all aspects of work will also be raised through training, publicity and promotion," he said.

Mr Cheung pointed out that Hong Kong's work safety and health performance had improved substantially since the launch of the Occupational Safety Charter in 1996. The number of occupational injuries  fell from 59,465 in 1996 to 44,267 in 2005, while the accident rate per 1,000 employees fell from 23.6 to 17.8 over the same period.