Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is a question by the Hon Carmen Kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (June 25):
Question:
It is reported that fatal industrial accidents and incidents of serious non-compliance committed by contractors have repeatedly occurred in the construction industry in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information on the contractors with poor performance in relation to industrial accidents and site safety in the construction industry in each of the past five years (set out in a table):
(i) the numbers of fatal and non-fatal industrial accidents (set out by type of operations) and, among which, the numbers of those involving “bamboo scaffolding” or “metal scaffolding” works (set out by cause of accidents);
(ii) in respect of public works projects, the number of government project consultants/contractors with performance ratings of (a) “Poor” or “Very Poor” in site safety and (b) “Poor” or “Very Poor” in overall performance, and among which, the number of consultants and contractors who have been suspended from tendering or removed from the lists concerned (set out by type of non-compliance);
(iii) the numbers of prosecutions instituted by the Government in respect of fatal industrial accidents and the cases convicted and the penalty imposed on each of the convicted cases; and
(iv) the application situation for legal aid in each case of industrial accident involving civil claims (set out by fatal and non-fatal accidents);
(2) given that according to the direct investigation operation report of the Office of The Ombudsman released in April this year in relation to the Government’s regulation of occupational safety and health in the construction industry, from 2018 to 2023, fatal industrial accidents in the construction industry accounted for more than 80 per cent of fatal industrial accidents in all industries, and the Office found that some “competent persons” have failed to properly inspect the safety of bamboo scaffolds before signing the prescribed form (i.e. Form 5), how the authorities will improve the monitoring mechanism and step up enforcement efforts to ensure that the competent persons will strictly discharge their duties;
(3) given that according to the report mentioned in (2), the industrial accidents involving bamboo scaffolding works are related to the unauthorised issue of the prescribed form, whether the Government will review afresh the policy direction of reducing the use of bamboo scaffolds in public works projects; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) in respect of cases of public works projects in which contractors/consultants with performance ratings of “Poor” or “Very Poor” in overall performance were not suspended from tendering in the end, of the Government’s reasons for making such decisions (set out by cases); whether it will, from the perspective of value for money, review the weightings of the various scores for assessing the performance of contractors/consultants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) of the measures in place to prevent the relevant personnel of contractors who were removed from the register of general building contractors by the Government due to serious non-compliance from undertaking the Government’s public works projects by means of setting up new companies?
Reply:
President,
The Government attaches great importance to site safety. The Labour Department (LD) has been closely monitoring the levels and changes of occupational safety and health (OSH) risks in various industries, including the construction industry. Pursuant to the risk-based principle, the LD formulates and adjusts strategies for inspection and enforcement, publicity and promotion, as well as education and training to uplift the OSH performance. The Development Bureau (DEVB) from time to time reviews the safety management system of public works, being part of the construction industry, and adopts a multi-pronged approach by implementing measures on various fronts, including project design, tender evaluation, contract provisions, works supervision, technology application, regulation of contractors, as well as publicity and promotion, with a view to uplifting site safety performance of public works.
Having consulted the LD and the Legal Aid Department (LAD), the reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) (i) According to the OSH statistics analysed by the type of accidents by the LD, the breakdown of the numbers of fatal and non-fatal industrial accident cases in the construction industry from 2020 to 2024 (by type of accidents) is at Annex 1.
Among the fatal industrial accident cases, the relevant statistics involving working on bamboo scaffolds and metal scaffolds are at Annex 2. The LD does not maintain relevant statistics on non-fatal industrial accident cases involving bamboo scaffolds and metal scaffolds.
The LAD is not in position to disclose the details of each individual case because of the restriction under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and the Legal Aid Ordinance also contains provisions maintaining confidentiality of information relating to an applicant or aided person.
The LD is planning to develop a “scaffold inspection checklist” for use by competent persons when inspecting scaffolds in order to strengthen the regulation of their inspection work under the OSH legislation and reduce the chance of making false statements on the approved forms.
To further promote the adoption of metal scaffolds, the DEVB recently required 50 per cent of new public works building works contracts of the Government, with tenders to be invited on or after March 21, 2025, to adopt metal scaffolds. Based on the new public works building works contracts in 2025, 50 per cent of new contracts means one to two new building works contracts. With experience gained, the DEVB will continue to maintain close communication with the construction industry and adopt a pragmatic attitude to encourage the industry to keep pace with the times and adopt metal scaffolds in a progressive manner. The Government has no intention to ban bamboo scaffolds and will continue to engage the industry and other relevant stakeholders to jointly explore measures from various aspects (including the application of technology) to enhance work safety of bamboo scaffolds.
In respect of regulating actions, if a contractor is involved in serious site safety incidents (irrespective of whether they occurred on public works sites or those of other public or private sector organisations), we will immediately suspend the contractor from tendering for public works contracts in accordance with the current regulating mechanism. Any tenders that the contractor has already submitted for public works contracts will not be considered during the regulating period. Following this, a Panel of Enquiry will be held to determine the need for further regulating actions against the contractor, including suspension from tendering or even removal from the approved lists.
In addition, if a contractor’s site safety performance is rated as “Very Poor” in the quarterly performance evaluation, its overall performance in the performance report will also be rated as “Very Poor”. If a contractor’s overall performance is rated as “Very Poor” for two consecutive quarters, we will suspend the contractor from tendering for public works contracts until its performance consistently meets satisfactory level. In general, upon receiving a “Very Poor” report, a contractor will implement effective improvement measures immediately. As for engineering consultants, we have a similar regulating mechanism in place as well.
Although some contractors or engineering consultants have been rated as having “Poor” or “Very Poor” overall performance, their performance has not yet met the threshold for triggering suspension of their tendering qualifications. However, under the current tender evaluation mechanism, a contractor’s past site safety performance, accident rate in public works contracts, and its records of serious site safety incidents (regardless of whether they occurred on public works sites or those of other public or private sector organisations) are key attributes assessed. These attributes make up about 30 per cent of the overall technical score. Therefore, if a contractor’s site safety performance is rated as “Poor” or “Very Poor”, the overall technical score of its tender will be lower, directly impacting its chance of winning future public works contracts. We will continue to review and enhance the performance evaluation and regulating systems for public works contractors and engineering consultants as needed.
When applying for admission to the approved lists, a contractor must fulfil a series of admission criteria, including project experience, site safety, financial capability, management, staff employment, and integrity, etc. In reviewing an application for admission, we consider the contractor’s relevant project experience, senior management, safety personnel and technical staff employed, financial capability (such as employed capital and working capital as reflected in audited financial statements in the past three years), and the past site safety performance of the company and relevant responsible persons. Therefore, it is not possible for a delisted contractor to easily regain approval simply by establishing a new company.