More than 500 workers have died building modern Hong Kong, but no one goes to jail
Labour activists want maximum HK$500,000 fine in factories law to be made unlimited to force employers to take worker safety seriously
Only one person has ever been given a jail sentence – and that was suspended – since incarceration was included in the industrial safety law in 1989, even though hundreds of workers have been killed while transforming Hong Kong into a modern city.
The confirmation by the Labour Department prompted calls from labour activists for Hong Kong to learn from Britain and make the HK$500,000 maximum fine in the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance unlimited.
Such a change, they said, would force construction companies and contractors to ensure their workers performed their duties in a safe environment.
“[It is] very hard to pin criminal responsibility on any one individual, though it can be done,” University of Hong Kong labour law expert Professor Rick Glofcheski said.
The academic, who is author of the book Employment Law and Practice in Hong Kong, said more inspectors should be sent to construction sites. He also said projects or even businesses which flouted safety regulations should be shut down.