Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ9: Safety of cleaners at carriageways and flyovers

Following is a question by the Hon Chan Kwok-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (January 14):

Question:

At present, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department recruits through subcontractors staff to clean roads, including carriageways and flyovers. These street cleaners are often seen to be working at road shoulders even when there are vehicles moving on the carriageways or flyovers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it has issued instructions on ways to safeguard the safety of cleaners responsible for cleaning the above carriageways and flyovers; 

(b) whether any street cleaners were injured or killed in traffic accidents while at work in the past three years; if so, of the dates of the traffic accidents, the casualties involved and other details; and

(c) if there were such traffic accidents, whether the authorities checked if the subcontractors involved had taken out employees' compensation insurance for the street cleaners concerned; if checking was done, of the results; if not, the reasons for that? 


Reply:

(a) The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) engages outside contractors to provide cleansing services on pavements or at roadsides. Such services include street sweeping, street washing, gully cleansing, etc. Cleansing of carriageways (such as flyovers) is done by mechanised sweeping vehicles. To protect the safety of street cleaners, FEHD requires contractor staff to wear reflective vests so that they are easily visible to vehicle drivers. 

The service contracts between FEHD and its cleansing service contractors stipulate that contractors must observe the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509). This is to ensure that their employees follow occupational safety measures in performing their duties at various locations to protect their own safety and health. Moreover, contractors are also required to comply with the contracts, the manufacturer's instructions or guidelines, the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374), and the requirements of other relevant legislation or codes of practice in their operation of vehicles, equipment and tools. 

(b) According to FEHD's records, there were five traffic accidents involving contractor staff at work in the past three years. Details of these accidents are set out in the Annex.

(c) Under section 40 of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), employers are required to obtain an insurance policy to cover the loss suffered by their employees as a result of accidents occurring in the course of their employment. It is also stipulated in the service contracts between FEHD and its cleansing service contractors that the latter must fulfil such insurance requirement. As a normal practice, FEHD will check whether the contractors have taken out the above insurance for their employees upon commencement of contracts. No contractors have been found breaching the requirement.

Ends/Wednesday, January 14, 2004
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Legislative Council Question 9

 

Annex

 

Case	Date of Accident	Injury Sustained by Worker	Details
(1)	27 August 2001	Shoulder injury	A vehicle attendant was injured when a water wagon lost control and overturned.
(2)	11 June 2002	Death	A worker was knocked down by a truck when she was sweeping at a public car park. She died three days after admission to hospital.
(3)	27 October 2003	Contusion at the feet	A worker sustained contusion at her feet caused by a turning vehicle when she was sweeping at a road corner.
(4)	11 November 2003	Abrasion at the thigh	A street cleaner was sweeping along the kerb side when a public light bus passed by and hit her handcart, which in turn injured her.
(5)	22 November 2003	Toes run over by vehicle	The toes of a worker��s right foot were run over by a reversing private car when she was depositing refuse into a refuse collection vehicle.