Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Protection against Accidents (Dockers) Convention (Revised), 1932 (No. 32) - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1997)

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes with interest that recent legislative changes, including the introduction of mandatory safety training required for persons engaged in shipboard cargo handling to improve their safety knowledge and awareness, and the issuance of a new code of practice for shipboard container handling, appear to have had a significant positive impact on the application of the Convention in practice. Compared to the previous reporting period the number of fatal accidents fell from 44 to 14, the number of non-fatal accidents from 2,042 to 931, and the number of miscellaneous cases from 133 to 112 during the reporting period (1 June 2007 to 31 March 2012). The Committee also notes the information that the Occupational Safety Officers of the Labour Department initiated ten prosecutions for breach of relevant legislation relating to cargo handling on shore, and that the Marine Industrial Safety Section of the Marine Department initiated 164 prosecutions for breaches of relevant legislation relating to cargo handling on board vessels. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice, including information on the outcome of the prosecutions initiated by the Occupational Safety Officers of the Labour Department and of the Marine Industrial Safety Section of the Marine Department, respectively.