Increase in number of suspension orders

The Labor Affairs Bureau (DSAL) issued a total of 13 suspension orders upon construction sites between January and April, a number that has already exceeded the total number of orders for the whole of 2014, according to the bureau director Wong Chi Hong.
Wong said on a TDM radio show yesterday that last year the Bureau issued 12 suspension orders to construction sites that had violated Macau’s work safety regulations. The construction work found to be substandard on these sites was ordered to be halted immediately, and was not allowed to resume operation until safety conditions were shown to have improved to an acceptable level.
Last year, the number of fatal industrial accidents in the region rose to seven, three times more than in 2013, and this year April alone has seen another four casualties.
The director stressed that the social consequences of industrial accidents are very high, and that the bureau would work to increase awareness of work safety and health measures, such as providing training sessions to the sector in how to use safety facilities to prevent workers from falling when installing air-conditioners.