Hong Kong must keep promises for action on scaffolding
- A deadly collapse of construction scaffolding at Kai Tak, in the wake of a rash of fatalities last year, will require action and vigilance on safety measures
It is not long since we commented on a rash of fatalities that made 2023 a bad year for workplace accidents in Hong Kong. It is tragic to have had to report another so soon – more so because the collapse of a 15-by-eight-metre scaffolding fixed to the side of a building seems at first to defy explanation on a calm winter’s day. It should take a typhoon to dislodge it.
The bamboo structure that fell from a luxury housing development at the old Kai Tak airport site killed two women on the ground who were taking a break from cleaning jobs. One of two women who survived, along with a man, was installing aluminium plates and glass panels when the scaffolding gave way outside the 19th floor. She rode it to the ground, sustaining chest and leg injuries.
‘Improper metal tie removal may have caused fatal Hong Kong scaffolding collapse’
Bamboo scaffolding is synonymous with Hong Kong. It is not associated with danger to those below except possibly for falling objects or during the violence of a typhoon. This exception adds to a bad construction safety record in a city where high rises are the norm. It has prompted demands for effective rules and standards and promises of action. Not long ago, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han responded to a spate of accidents by saying the authorities would step up checks on construction sites and crack down on offenders against safety regulations.
In this case, officials need to follow up on a possible cause suggested by construction union safety adviser Lee Kwong-sing, who told a radio programme it might be linked to the improper removal of metal support ties installed in the side of the building.
The Labour Department says the main contractor inspected the scaffolding when work resumed at the site after the Lunar New Year break. That still leaves unanswered questions about whether all the relevant rules and standards relating to scaffolding are adequate, diligently followed up with regular inspections and enforced, or indeed, whether the inspection regime needs to be overhauled and better resourced. This includes the occupational safety culture among construction workers.
Fatalities prompt promises of action. A bad safety record is unacceptable. Improvement cannot be achieved overnight. But it is a mission that should remain a priority once the news cycle moves on.
