The Director of the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), Dr Cheng Cho-ming, hosted a press briefing today (March 23) to recap the weather in 2019 and elaborate on the weather outlook for Hong Kong this year as well as the HKO’s l… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The spokesperson for Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital made the following announcement today (March 23): &… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The spokesperson for Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (PYNEH) made the following announcement today (March 23): The Centre for Health Pro… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
In view of the latest situation of COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong, to minimise the risk of infection among people who need to perform duties in the Legislative Council (LegCo) Complex and having regard to Members’ views, the President of LegCo, Mr Andrew Leung, has decided that the scheduled regular Council meeting on Wednesday (March 25) will not be held.
As LegCo had yet to complete the consideration of the proposed resolution moved under the Public Finance Ordinance (the Vote on Account resolution) at its last week’s meeting, and the funds to be sought are time-critical, the President of LegCo has decided to call a Council meeting on the same day at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex to continue to consider the Vote on Account resolution and related matters (the VoA item).
The Vote on Account resolution is moved by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (SFST) under the Public Finance Ordinance to seek the Council’s approval to give for a sum not exceeding $215,865,713,000 to be charged on the general revenue for expenditure on the services of the Government in respect of the financial year commencing on April 1, 2020. The proposed resolution is set out in Appendix 1.
Dr Fernando Cheung, Mr Wu Chi-wai and Mr Andrew Wan will move four separate amending motions to SFST’s proposed resolution. The motions are set out in Appendices 2-5 respectively.
If the consideration of the VoA item cannot be completed at the meeting on Wednesday (March 25), the meeting will resume at 9am on Thursday (March 26).
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Members of the public can watch or listen to the meeting via the “Webcast” system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meeting at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats. read more
The Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about a work accident that happened at a slope in Kowloon Tong this morning (March 23), in which a male worker fell to his death from the slope while conducting slope maintenance work. The LD is saddened by the death of the worker and expresses its deepest sympathies to the victim’s family.
The LD’s spokesman said, “We commenced an immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident and issued suspension notices to the contractors concerned, suspending making access to/egress from and maintaining the slope. The contractors cannot resume the work process until the LD is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risk have been taken.”
The spokesman added, “We will complete investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation.”
The general duty provisions of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance require employers to provide safe working environments, plant and safe systems of work for their employees. Those who contravene the above provisions are liable to a maximum fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for six months.
In regard to today’s accident, the LD will issue a Work Safety Alert through its website and email, providing a brief account of the accident concerned to duty holders, workers’ unions, professional bodies of safety practitioners and others, reminding the industry of the importance of following safety precautionary measures to prevent a recurrence of similar accidents.
The LD will also remind the employer concerned of the liability for employees’ compensation under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, assist family members of the deceased to claim employees’ compensation and closely follow up on the case. For those with financial difficulties, the LD will assist them to apply for appropriate emergency funds. Subject to the needs and wishes of family members of the deceased, the LD will also liaise with the Social Welfare Department for financial or other assistance.
For the sake of securing the safety and health of employees at work, the LD appeals to employers to provide plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health. Employees should co-operate with their employers, adopt all safety measures and properly use provided personal protective equipment to avoid endangering their own work safety and that of other workers. read more