Calls for more frequent inspections of potentially dangerous projects had been ignored, a legislator said last night. Democratic Party infrastructure spokesman Albert Chan Wai-yip said he had been urging the Labour Department to step up inspections of airport core projects after a spate of accidents. There were too few inspectors to ensure sufficient checks, he said. But officials insisted safety requirements in contracts were sufficient, Mr Chan said. The spokesman said lessons should have been learnt from the 17-storey fall of a passenger hoist at a building site in North Point in 1993, in which 12 men were killed. Fellow Democratic legislator Tsang Kin-shing, who represents the construction industry, accused the Government of being insensitive to the dangers faced by thousands of workers. 'Safety standards at construction sites are fixed by the Government and employers. Employees have no say,' he said. Labour Department deputy commissioner Alfred Chan Wing-kit said: 'If anyone is held responsible, we will take action.' He said occupational health and safety teams were being expanded. The department was seeking nearly $40 million to create 68 new positions to increase safety inspections. Labour Department spokesman Robert Yip Wai-keung said the site in Kwai Chung had been inspected a month ago and officials were there yesterday morning on a regular visit to provide advice on safety. The Labour Department said it was in the process of amending laws to provide more protection for workers. A Lands and Works spokesman said the law changes were intended to place more responsibility on 'authorised persons' such as engineers and architects.