Editorial | Hong Kong firms must be left in no doubt that safety of workers comes first
- The government has rightly put welfare ahead of efficiency and output by moving to deregister contractors with poor records
Hong Kong’s work safety record continues to be stained by fatal accidents and disproportionate punishment for those held responsible. This denies justice to victims and risks encouraging more reckless behaviour across industries.
The trend must either be reversed or more tragedies will occur. Well aware of this, the government has stepped up actions against contractors involved in workplace tragedies.
In a rare move, a subsidiary of Great Harvest Group, Aggressive Construction Engineering, will be removed from the government’s registered list of contractors after a worker was killed by a falling steel beam at a Yau Tong construction site last December.
Sister firm Aggressive Construction Company, which has seen four workers killed at its sites in two separate incidents over the past year, is also being reviewed by authorities.
The move follows calls for tougher sanctions after a 56-year-old electrician fell to his death earlier this month as he laid cables for a government project in Yau Ma Tei.
In September last year, a 65-tonne tower crane collapsed onto containers used as temporary offices at a Housing Society construction site in Sau Mau Ping, killing three workers and injuring six others.