Over 100 work safety violations in 2015

The Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL) released data that show more than 100 violations in the use of the Occupational Health and Safety Cards in 2015. Wong Chi Hong, director of DSAL, does not consider the situation to be critical, TDM reported.
According to this data, 112 cases were reported during the previous year – 102 of which were linked to employees, 10 to employers. Referring to the reasons for such violations, Hong said, “Sometimes violations occur because the employees forget to renew their cards.” Hong also claimed that many construction sites apply strict security measures by requiring workers to present the cards in order to enter the site.
Eight fatal work accidents happened last year. These incidents were mainly associated with aerial tasks and working at heights.
Wong expressed his concern by saying that the authority hopes to create legislative regulations on work safety issues. However, since the legislation requires a huge amount of work, the department is considering focusing firstly on construction safety. “Heavier penalties that could go up to at most five times the [current] maximum fines are under consideration,” Wong advised, according to a Macao Daily News report.