Hong Kong worker dies after falling from bamboo scaffolding outside To Kwa Wan building
Hong Kong Free Press
A worker has died after falling from height while dismantling bamboo scaffolding outside a building in To Kwa Wan.
The man, surnamed Lam, was removing scaffolding on the exterior of the 11th floor of Tung Nam Factory Building on Monday, where window maintenance work had just been completed, local media reported.
At around 2 pm, a fastener attached to his safety harness was believed to have come loose, and he fell and landed on a first floor canopy.
Lam was rushed to Kwong Wah Hospital and declared dead before 3 pm.
According to the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims (ARIAV), Lam was the breadwinner of his family and leaves behind a wife and two daughters aged eight and four. The group will provide assistance to the family, it said in a Facebook post.
The Labour Department said it was investigating the incident and had issued suspension notices to the relevant contractors. Work outside the building had been halted until the department was “satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risks have been taken,” it added.
The department reminded employers to provide workers with a “suitable full-body harness that is attached continuously to a suitable and secure anchor point or an independent lifeline with a fall arresting system.”
The ARIAV said that since 2012, there had been 23 fatal accidents involving bamboo scaffolding. Just last month, a worker dismantling bamboo scaffolding outside a building in Ho Man Tin fell to his death.
Hong Kong labour rights activists have long sounded the alarm on workplace hazards that have resulted in injuries or death.
Fay Siu, chief executive of the concern group, told reporters that even though the government had amended the Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety, there were still “bad habits” in the industry.
For example, some workers may use safety equipment that is not up to standard, or may not properly attach the equipment, Siu said.
In April, the Labour Department revised the Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety, banning unauthorised alteration of bamboo scaffolding and enhancing requirements related to the supervision of workers.
The maximum penalty for employers who commit serious occupation safety violations is HK$10 million under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance. The penalty was increased from HK$500,000 last April.
A recent fine meted out, however, fell far below the maximum. Last month, Swire Waste Management Limited was handed a HK$80,000 penalty for violating the safety ordinance. The case involved a fatal accident in a landfill last December.
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