I read with great interest the report headlined, 'Tung vows to speed renewal of old districts' (South China Morning Post, August 12). His comments came after a hawker was killed by a piece of concrete falling from a residential block in Mongkok.
Despite Mr Tung's promises, I have a pretty good case to show he's doing the opposite.
I am a Level Three IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade Association) qualified abseiler working in Hong Kong. The majority of the high access work I do is on building surveys but, with my company, have also worked on projects such as the Tsing Ma Bridge and the Hong Kong Convention Centre.
IRATA is an internationally accepted qualification for people who work in high places (in particular using roped access techniques). IRATA methods have been used throughout Europe for 20 years. To be qualified you have to go through extensive training courses and log thousands of hours of supervised work. Our company (about 10 supervised abseilers and three supervisors) surveys about 10-20 buildings a month faster, safer, cheaper and less intrusively than any other method (such as scaffolding). We have never had an accident and, worldwide, there has not been a single fatality of an IRATA qualified worker.
However, the Government labour department is banning all high access workers in Hong Kong from September this year. We have not been given a single justifiable reason.
We have formed an association (Hong Kong Roped Access Association) to open a dialogue with the Labour Department in the hope of educating them about the potential benefits of promoting and regulating skilled high access workers in Hong Kong, but with little or no response.
