The Labour Department received 50,235 cases of work injuries and occupational disease under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance last year. A total of 42,767 cases have been settled, involving $403,509,399 in compensation.

Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam told the Legislative Council today, in the absence of the Secretary for Economic Development & Labour, that as at April 30, the percentage of successful claims among cases reported last year was 85.1%.

In some cases, employees needed longer sick leave after the work injury, requiring medical clearance and assessment procedures to be completed at a later stage, and the Labour Department was unable to issue a Certificate of Compensation Assessment. Some other cases involved disputes over the liability for compensation, and are yet to be settled due to court proceedings.

No compensation

For unsuccessful cases, the main reasons were that the court determined there was no employer-employee relationship, or the employees did not sustain their injury or die as a result of an accident arising out of and in the course of the employment.

Mr Lam said, for the outstanding cases, if employers cast doubt on the claims and refuse to admit liability, the department will investigate and explain the ordinance to employers and the employees, and assist both in resolving conflicts. Unresolved disputes must be adjudicated by the District Court. The department will assist employees, referring them to the Legal Aid Department, or help them lodge claims with the court direct.

Mr Lam said Hong Kong has made substantial improvements in occupational safety and health over the past decade. The number of occupational injuries fell 25.2% from 62,776 in 1997 to 46,937 in 2006. The injury rate per thousand employees also dropped 26.2% from 24.9 in 1997 to 18.4 in 2006.