For discussion EC(97-98)4
on 30 April 1997

ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 90-LABOUR DEPARTMENT
Subhead 001 Salaries

    Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the creation of the following permanent post in the Labour Department with effect from 1 June 1997 -

    l Assistant Commissioner for Labour
    (D2) ($102,900 - $109,250)

PROBLEM

The Commissioner for Labour (C for L) does not have sufficient directorate support to implement the new Occupational Safety and Health Bill (OSH Bill) and its subsidiary regulations for the protection of the safety and health of workers in the non-industrial sector.

PROPOSAL

2. C for L proposes to create one permanent post of Assistant Commissioner for Labour (AC for L) (D2) to strengthen the directorate support of the Labour Department to implement the new OSH Bill and its subsidiary legislation.

JUSTIFICATION

The existing structure

3. On 10 April 1996, Members endorsed the creation of one Deputy Commissioner for Labour (DC for L) (D3) post and one Chief Factory Inspector (CFI) (D1) post in the Labour Department to enable the Department to restructure its occupational safety and health activities in line with the Government's new policy directions (EC (96-97)5). The Finance Committee approved the two posts on 10 May 1996. Following the strengthening of directorate support, C for L established a new Occupational Safety and Health Branch (OSHB) in the Labour Department in May 1996. The existing organisation structure of the OSHB is at Enclosure 1.

The Occupational Safety and Health Bill

4. In recent years, there has been increasing concern in the community over the safety and health protection of workers in the non-industrial sector. The non-industrial sector covers a wide range of trades and businesses, including offices, shopping centres, commercial premises, educational institutions, hospitals, clinics, laboratories and Government services. An estimated 2.3 million workers come under this sector, spreading over some 260 000 establishments in the territory. Whilst past statistics have indicated a lower occupational accident rate in the non-industrial sector, there were nonetheless as many as 19 002 work-related accidents recorded in 1996, as opposed to 40 185 in the industrial sector. Under current safety legislation, occupational diseases in the non-industrial sector do not require reporting, but we believe that a number of illnesses and diseases are traceable from various activities such as manual handling, use of display screen equipment, handling of hazardous chemicals and physical agents etc.

5. In response to calls from labour groups, employee unions and Legislative Council Members, the Government accepted a recommendation from a tripartite ad hoc committee under the Labour Advisory Board to introduce a new legislation to protect the safety and health of workers not currently covered by the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance (FIUO). On 21 November 1995, the Executive Council endorsed the recommendations of a Consultation Paper on the Review of Industrial Safety, including the proposal to introduce a new OSH Bill and the related regulations. We have included this new policy in the Government's Policy Commitments in 1996. Details of the proposed OSH Bill and the legislative timetable are at Enclosure 2.

6. The OSH Bill encourages safety management and requires the employers themselves to identify and assess the risks and to take steps to control them. However, since both the risk assessment process and safety management are new to Hong Kong, there will be increasing demand from the employers as well as employee associations for professional advice on such aspects as the legislative intent, enforcement/compliance standards, approved codes of practice etc. The Labour Department will need to advise employers in various non-industrial establishments of their legal obligations to manage safety and health by adhering to easy-to-follow guidelines and codes of practice. Since the specific compliance standards under each set of regulation and the codes of practice are different, a great deal of work will be required to formulate the guidelines and draw up the codes of practice especially during the grace period before implementation of the new legislation.

Proposed strengthening of directorate support

7. To enable the Labour Department to discharge its new responsibilities in occupational safety and health competently, C for L will create 87 new non-directorate posts in 1997-98 and, subject to review, a further 75 new non-directorate posts in 1998-99. This workforce will set up compliance standards, develop new codes of practice, implement new promotional strategies, conduct research and disseminate information on hazard causes and prevention, provide medical and health surveillance of employees exposed to occupational risks etc. C for L will create these non-directorate posts under delegated authority in the usual way.

8. With the new responsibilities and the increase of a considerable number of staff, the existing Assistant Commissioner (Occupational Safety) (AC(OS)) cannot absorb the additional work. To cope with the expansion, C for L will need an additional AC for L post in 1997-98 to look after the overall planning and development of strategies relating to safety and health at works in both the industrial and non-industrial sectors.

9. The new AC for L will take over from the current AC(OS) responsibilities for managing the support services (now directly under a CFI), and the planning and development as well as training functions of the OSHB (now under two Deputy Chief Factory Inspectors respectively). He will also be responsible for a new Advisory Unit (AU) and a new Accident Analysis and Information Centre (AAIC), each to be staffed by a small team of professional officers. The AU will be responsible for developing the subsidiary legislation, preparing codes of practice and guidance pamphlets, providing professional advice to employers including government departments. The AAIC will analyse occupational accidents and diseases on the basis of a new database to be developed. Labour Department will be able to draw upon the statistics to persuade employers to adopt safety management, conduct cost-benefit studies and develop accident prevention programmes.

10. The current AC for L will, upon restructuring, focus on all operational matters in both the industrial and non-industrial sectors. He will command a much larger establishment of field staff and direct the work of the Legal Services Division and Boilers and Pressure Vessels Division. The duty lists of the existing AC for L post, the post after restructuring and the proposed AC for L post are at Enclosures 3, 4 and 5 respectively. The proposed organisation chart of the OSHB is at Enclosure 6.

11. Both SEM and C for L consider that the proposed AC for L post should be created now instead of after the grace period for the implementation of the OSH Bill and regulations made under it. The Department is already experiencing strong pressure from trade bodies and unions for guidelines of compliance standards in respect of the various trades. Furthermore, since the new legislation will cover the safety and health aspects of almost all occupations and affect almost all employers, employees and occupiers of work places in the territory, the Labour Department will need to conduct a large number of promotional and educational activities during the grace period. C for L therefore urgently needs a new head at the Assistant Commissioner level to plan and handle the new tasks.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

12. The additional notional annual salary cost of the proposal at mid-point is $1,273,200. The full annual average staff cost of the proposal, including salaries and on-costs, is $2,425,260. In addition, this proposal will necessitate the creation of one permanent non-directorate post of Personal Secretary I at a notional annual mid-point salary cost of $258,300 and a full annual average staff cost of $406,344 to provide secretarial support to the proposed AC for L post.

13. We have included sufficient provision in the l997-98 Estimates to meet the cost of these additional posts.

CIVIL SERVICE BRANCH COMMENTS

14. The Civil Service Branch supports the creation of an additional post of AC for L to enable the Labour Department to implement the new OSH legislation. The proposed grading and ranking of the post is appropriate, having regard to its duties and responsibilities.

ADVICE OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON DIRECTORATE SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

15. The Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service has advised that the grading proposed for the post would be appropriate if the post were to be created.

Education and Manpower Branch
April 1997

(E5797/WIN104)

Enclosure 2 to EC(97-98)4

Occupational Safety and Health Bill

We intend to bring the new legislation into force by three stages in five sets of subsidiary legislation, as follows -

Stage I

  1. safety, health and welfare of the workplace (including ventilation, lighting, fire precautions, washroom facilities, first aid, drinking water) as well as manual handling operations;

Stage II

  1. health and safety aspects in the use of visual display equipment;

  2. personal protective equipment at work;

Stage III

  1. dangerous substances and their labelling, handling, storage etc.; and

  2. use of machinery and equipment.

2. We introduced the OSH Bill into the Legislative Council (LegCo) on 4 December 1996 together with the first set of subsidiary legislation at paragraph 1(a) above. The LegCo Manpower Panel strongly supported the bill and its subsidiary legislation. The LegCo Bills Committee has just completed scrutiny of the bill and the first set of regulation. If LegCo approves the Bill and the subsidiary legislation, the provisions of the OSH Bill and the first set of regulation will come into operation after a grace period.

Enclosure 3 to EC (97-98)4

Existing Job Description of Assistant Commissioner for Labour

(Occupational Safety)

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Responsible to the Deputy Commissioner (Occupational Safety and Health) for -

  1. assisting in formulating policy and strategies relating to safety and health at work;

  2. supervising and directing the activities of the following divisions -

    1. Operations Division under a Chief Factory Inspector;

    2. Support Services Division under a Chief Factory Inspector;

    3. Planning and Training Division under two Deputy Chief Factory Inspectors;

    4. Boiler and Pressure Vessels Division under a Senior Surveyor; and

    5. Legal Services Division under a Senior Crown Counsel;

  3. reviewing and amending existing legislation on occupational safety and health;

  4. managing staff and other resources in the occupational safety programme area; and

  5. liaising with LegCo, policy branches, other government departments, professional and trade bodies on safety and health at work.

Enclosure 4 to EC(97-98)4

Revised Job Description of Assistant Commissioner for Labour

(Occupational Safety)

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Responsible to the Deputy Commissioner for Labour (Occupational Safety and Health) for -

  1. assisting in formulating operational policies and strategies relating to safety and health at work;

  2. supervising and directing the activities of the following divisions -

    1. Operations Division under a Chief Factory Inspector;

    2. Boilers and Pressure Vessels Division under a Senior Surveyor; and

    3. Legal Services Division under a Senior Crown Counsel;

  3. implementing the safety management approach in line with the Government’s policy on occupational safety and health;

  4. reviewing and amending existing legislation on occupational safety and health;

  5. managing staff and other resources in the occupational safety programme area; and

  6. liaising with LegCo, policy branches, other government departments, professional and trade bodies on safety and health at work.

Enclosure 5 to EC(97-98)4

Job Description of the new Assistant Commissioner for Labour post

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Responsible to the Deputy Commissioner for Labour (Occupational Safety and Health) for -

  1. assisting in formulating policies and strategies relating to the planning and development of safety and health at work;

  2. supervising and directing the activities of the following divisions -

    1. Support Services Division under a Chief Factory Inspector;

    2. Planning and Training Division under two Deputy Chief Factory Inspectors;

    3. newly created Advisory Unit; and

    4. newly created Accident Analysis and Information Centre;

  3. implementing the Occupational Safety and Health Bill;

  4. reviewing and amending existing legislation on occupational safety and health;

  5. managing staff and other resources in the occupational safety programme area; and

  6. liaising with LegCo, policy branches, other government departments, professional and trade bodies on safety and health at work.

Last Updated on 12 August 1999