Accident In Hong Kong Today

[Dona Vansoest]

CLBsits down with Siu Sin-Man of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims to talk about the changing landscape for labour rights in Hong Kong, through the case studies of three major incidents in 2022:

This English-language version is based on the original Chinese article available here. We also have a Chinese-language podcast episode featuring our full interview with Siu Sin-Man. The interview was conducted in late December 2022.

According to figures cited by ARIAV at their 23 December 2022 press conference, which reviewed occupational injuries and occupational safety incidents in the first half of 2022, a total of 123 workers died on the job in Hong Kong. As of 20 December, the Hong Kong Labour Department recorded 26 fatal industrial accidents, including 17 in the construction industry.

In 2022, ARIAV compiled a map of workplace accidents in Hong Kong, recording more than 300 deaths in the past 35 years. The organisation hopes that the map will give the public a better sense of the sacrifices workers have made to create prosperity for the city, and that it will encourage greater public awareness of workplace safety issues.

Siu said that after helping with the funeral arrangements and assisting the family in getting compensation from the company, all that is left to do is wait. The investigation by the Hong Kong Labour Department typically takes about six months. The evidence collected will be submitted to the Department of Justice for advice before the company can be charged with violating safety regulations. The complexity of this particular accident is such that the wait for a court date could be longer than one year.

The Mirror concert accident occurred in July 2022, when Mirror held a series of concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum. On 28 July, one of the backup dance performers was struck by a giant LCD video screen as it came unhinged and crashed onto the stage. He was paralysed and is still recovering.

Given public opinion on this shocking incident, the Hong Kong government has been under pressure to deal with this matter in a just and timely manner. The authorities immediately established a working group which receives regular comments from experts and officials, showing that the government has been treating the incident as a priority. In January 2023, police charged three individuals for conspiring to make false statements, leading to the accident. The trial is upcoming.

Siu believes that this level of transparency is a good model for all major accidents. The government provided regular public updates on the progress of the Mirror accident investigation and made the full report publicly available. This is different from the practice seen for other safety incidents in the past.

Legislation in Hong Kong, Siu said, has no prohibitions on the publication of accident investigation reports. So long as no trade secrets or private interests are at stake, the report should be fully accessible to the public. She believes it is crucial, especially for the industry, to know the cause of the accident to raise awareness and prevent future similar incidents.

In addition to the Mirror concert accident, the government has been pressured to publicise the causes of fatal accidents on the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Based on these precedents, Siu believes the government should make regular announcements of ongoing accident investigation reports.

The popularity of food delivery has risen during the pandemic, and the territory now has tens of thousands food delivery riders. Beginning in 2021, Hong Kong food delivery riders launched several actions to advocate for their rights, and their actions have continued into 2022. These workers are frequently involved in traffic accidents and face other hazards on the job, and some have even died.

Siu points out two labour aspects: Many of the delivery workers have private insurance, but the level of compensation coverage falls far below that available through workers' compensation insurance coverage; and the delivery company policies encourage delivery workers to drive fast, which increases their risks.

How food delivery riders are classified in labour and employment terms is important to discussions over workplace accident compensation. After the Mirror concert accident, a Labour Department investigation determined that there was an employment relationship between the dancer and the company. Such a determination at a high level certainly offers some guarantees for those working in the performance industry. But in the food delivery industry, previous responses from the government suggest that workers will continue to be classified as independent contractors rather than employees.

Rather than waiting for a broad determination on the topic of employment relationships for delivery workers, ARIAV believes that government regulation of delivery platforms can be done more easily. This could mean establishing a licensing system that requires companies to meet certain requirements. However, recommendations like these have not been taken up by the government.

In the past, ARIAV worked closely with HKCTU to promote workplace safety policies and referred workers' cases to the union for assistance. Now that HKCTU has dissolved, Siu says that it is like fighting alone:

Siu says there is an urgent need to amend the Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance. The ordinance has been in force for about 30 years, and she says the level of compensation required is no longer a deterrent today. The current fine is only Hong Kong $500,000 (U.S. $63,760) if general liability provisions are violated, such as failure to provide and maintain work equipment and systems.

Workers and their advocates hope to raise the penalty to $3 million, or up to $10 million in the case of severe safety incidents involving casualties or gross negligence. Initially, they had wanted to raise the level to $50 million, but a compromise was later reached between the labour and business sectors.

These days, Siu said the voice of the labour sector is much weaker in Hong Kong than it was in the past. With the recent disbandment of several trade unions, labour has lost its voice and is being shouted over by the interests of capital. But at the same time, communication channels between the labour sector and the government under the new Hong Kong electoral system are now entirely in the hands of pro-establishment labour groups, and the power of labour at the Legislative Council level could be strong.

In China, the scale of the platform economy, the conditions giving rise to the development of the sector, and the special regulatory environment all have unique features that affect workers and their rights. This explainer examines these angles primarily through the lens of two platform industries: the food delivery industry and the ride-hailing industry.

On 1 October 2012, at approximately 20:23 HKT, the passenger ferries Sea Smooth and Lamma IV collided off Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, Hong Kong.[1] This occurred on the National Day of the People's Republic of China, and one of the ships was headed for the commemorative firework display, scheduled to take place half an hour later. With 39 killed[2] and 92 injured,[3][4] the incident was the deadliest maritime disaster in Hong Kong since 1971.[1]

The accident involved a Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry-operated passenger ferry, Sea Smooth (海泰號), and a Hongkong Electric Company-owned vessel, Lamma IV (南丫四號), with 121 passengers and 3 crew members on board. The passenger ferry was travelling from Central to Yung Shue Wan, while the Hongkong Electric Company vessel was travelling from Lamma Island to Central. Passengers on Lamma IV were on a one-day tour organised by the company, and were headed to Central for the fireworks display commemorating the National Day of the PRC following a tour of the Lamma Power Station.[9] Participants of the tour mostly joined as families, and as a result there were a number of children among the passengers.

At approximately 20:23, the bow of Sea Smooth collided with the stern of Lamma IV on her port side,[10] rupturing two of the latter ship's watertight compartments which quickly flooded.[11][12] Lamma IV soon capsized with her aft sinking into the sea. The vessel reportedly went down so quickly that more than 100 passengers were thrown into the water unprotected despite an abundance of life vests on board. Sea Smooth' left the scene after the accident and continued on to Yung Shue Wan pier. The front of Sea Smooth was damaged and its captain was also sent to the local hospital after the accident, along with several passengers, for injuries.[citation needed]

A total of 39 people were killed in the accident,[2] all from Lamma IV, 30 of whom were pronounced dead at the scene, while eight others were pronounced dead upon arrival at hospitals.[13] one passenger would die in hospital on 5 October.[14]

92 people on both vessels were injured,[3][4] four of whom sustained severe injuries. While the Hongkong Electric company claimed 124 people were on Lamma IV, police suspected that there might have been more on board as company employees were allowed to invite their own friends.[15] As a result, the number of people missing remained unknown.[16][17]

An air-and-sea rescue effort was initiated. The Fire Services Department deployed 10 launches, including a diving support vessel and mobilised 350 officers, including fire and ambulance personnel and more than 60 ambulances (including ambulances from St John Ambulance and Auxiliary Medical Service).[18][19] The injured were taken to five hospitals around Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government had requested help from the nearby Guangdong province to aid in search-and-rescue, but external resources were not deployed at all as domestic resources were seen as adequate by the rescue forces.[citation needed]

3a8082e126