As we wrap up the year, taking stock of what occurred and looking back at the newsmakers of 2024, I can’t help but think about the families left behind after fatal industrial accidents in Hong Kong.
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Of all the people who made it to the evening news in 2024, Fay Siu Sin-man of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims is the person I least want to see on television. The chief executive of the concern group has been the face of activism against fatal industrial accidents in the city.
Last month, Hong Kong had four work-related fatalities in just a week. Two died after falling from scaffolding, another was crushed by a falling cage lift at a construction site, and a cleaner fell into the sea at a public cargo area. These were followed by two more fatal industrial accidents: one involving an escalator repairman and the other a worker who was painting on a raised platform that malfunctioned.
On December 17, another worker was found dead, on the roof of a building at Shek Kong Barracks, after family called the police to report her missing. On December 23, a man unloading water pipes from a truck at a construction site for a Drainage Services Department project was hit on the head and died from his injuries.
By December 18, the Labour Department had recorded 21 fatal industrial accidents this year, a slight drop from 24 in 2023.
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The legislature passed the Occupational Safety and Occupational Health Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2022 in the hope that raising the maximum penalty for serious occupational safety violations would act as a more effective deterrent.
The maximum penalty for such violations had been raised to HK$10 million from HK$500,000, together with two years’ imprisonment. Whether the slight drop in the number of fatal accidents can be attributed to the amended law is debatable, but it’s clear that this is not enough.