#工業傷亡權益會 總幹事 #蕭倩文 應邀出席以英語廣播的 #香港電台第三台 節目《#HashtagHongKong》時提到香港工業意外的數字和嚴重性近年有上升趨勢，令人十分擔憂。要改善及推動 #職業安全健康，必須提升公眾意識，不但要促使相關政府部門於事發後加快行動及回應，也應在預防方面做得更好，包括在基礎教育中增加職業安全教育，以及儘早修訂目前不足應對現況的職安健法例。

節目已於今天（11月27日）早上8:15播出，歡迎到香港電台網頁重溫： https://tinyurl.com/2798jjb4

以下為總幹事在節目中發言之全文：

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Dear Colleagues,

It has been yet another unsettling year, fraught with chilling industrial accidents. A suspended working platform plunged 20 stories and claimed the lives of 2 workers; a massive TV panel left a dancer in critical condition after crashing onto him during a performance at the HK Coliseum; 3 workers died and 6 injured by the collapsed tower crane, and the list goes on.

Among the victims were a father of two or the only child of a single mother. Recalling their precious lives in ice-cold figures has always left me in distress.

“Why have there been so many fatal accidents recently?” some asked. The disturbing truth is that, fatal industrial accidents are not a new phenomenon, and the number of industrial accidents gone unnoticed and untold is beyond our imagination.

What worries me the most is, not only the number of industrial accidents has risen steadily, but also their severity and the resulting casualty. In every seemingly ordinary year, 200 workers were away from us.

One death or injury is too many.

Public awareness about industrial accidents has particularly increased after the MIRROR concert accident, which forced the government to act quickly by establishing an interdepartmental investigation task force. Nonetheless, other victims of industrial accidents seldom received similar treatment. “It’s under investigation” has always been the standard excuse before victims hear again from authorities after months or even years of waiting, then they remain entrenched in several more years of legal battle before justice is served.

We must remain attentive to issues regarding occupational safety and industrial accidents, and we must never let their lives be lost in darkness.

The question remains: How do we put an end to the recurring episodes of tragedies?

While it is true that no two industrial accidents are the same, two major shortfalls in the following have always accompanied the tragedies:

The first is that risk assessments were usually not taken seriously. Risk assessment has become the standard procedure for virtually every industry, but how it is usually performed is another issue. In most scenarios, we find that if risk assessments were conducted seriously, these industrial accidents would not have taken place.

Risk assessment must therefore not be treated merely as burdensome paperwork, but instead as a prerequisite to every safe operation, regardless of their complexity.

If everyone fulfill their duty in performing every risk assessment, there will surely be no more victims and tears.

Secondly, we argue that loopholes remain in our safety education scheme. Nowadays, our safety education is targeted mainly on frontline workers. Frontline workers should not be the only stakeholders responsible for occupational safety. Company executives, engineers, and consultants are also more intelligible and resourceful, and are therefore indispensable and responsible in fostering a culture that prioritize workplace safety.

Recently, the Legislative Council is reviewing the penalties of Occupational Safety and Health Legislation. Since its introduction, the legislation has been ineffective in deterring occupational safety negligence, as most offenders were simply fined for a small sum upon conviction. While the proposed amendment by the Labour Department has suggested to raise the maximum fine from 5 hundred thousand to 3 million or 10 million and extend the prosecution time frame from 6 months to 1 year, the amendment was regrettably met with resistance in the chamber. We cordially invite our fellow lawmakers to promptly allow for the passage of the amendment to not only deter the acts of occupational safety negligence, but also to serve the justice that victims of industrial accidents deserved.

At the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, we are dedicated to provide support to victims of industrial accidents and their families, help them fight for their rights and also facilitate their rehabilitation. The nature of our job may leave us in sadness, but thanks to the relentless support from the public, we will persist in our duty in helping the victims and the families of the deceased in need. I hereby express my sincerest gratitude to my fellow colleagues for your passion and devotion, while sometimes simultaneously having to raise funds for those with special needs, which has always been an uphill battle. For four decades, we have been fighting along with our fellow workers and we will persist in honoring our mission.

I hope that we will see each other in the coming flag-selling activity on 10th December.

Warm Regards,

Fay