Hong Kong lawmakers criticise ‘very lenient’ sentences for convictions of workplace deaths and injuries

Hong Kong’s lenient penalties and low conviction rate for workplace health and safety violations drew sharp criticism from lawmakers on Wednesday, who questioned the extent to which the tougher laws are actually helping to reduce workplace deaths.

By the end of May this year, the Ministry of Labour recorded 29 workplace deaths after the Occupational Safety and Health Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulation 2023 came into force on April 28 last year, increasing penalties for violations.

The Legislative Council heard that out of 111 cases relating to eight industrial accidents, only one case had been completed. The two owners of a non-construction industrial company were each fined HK$50,000.

“This is very unsatisfactory because there are very few convictions and the sentences are very lenient,” said MP Stanley Ng Chau-pei, who is also chairman of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions.

“It seems that although we have changed the law, it has had no effect on workplace accidents.”

At a meeting of the Legislative Council, lawmakers questioned the deterrent effect of the amended law, stressing that a fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,405) was not high enough to prevent safety violations that endangered workers’ welfare.

The 2023 amendments increased the maximum penalty for serious occupational safety violations from HK$500,000 to HK$10 million, plus a prison sentence of two years.

The maximum penalty for violations prosecuted summarily in the course of the employer’s general official duty increased to HK$3 million, and for violations in the course of the employee’s general official duty to HK$150,000.

Ng called on the government to conduct studies to develop more targeted measures and laws to reduce the high number of deaths and injuries in the industry.

The time limit for prosecution of crimes that can be prosecuted in summary proceedings has been increased from six to nine months by the amended regulation.

But lawmaker Lam Chun-sing, also a prominent trade unionist, added that authorities should consider reviewing the current law and, among other things, whether the nine-month time limit for prosecuting summary offenses is long enough.

Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Chris Sun Yuk-han told Legco that officials had explained to the courts the intention of the change in the law, which involves significantly increasing penalties for offences related to work-related accidents.

“But ultimately it is still at the discretion of the court how high the fine should be and whether a penalty should be imposed in each individual case,” he said.

The Department of Labor recorded a total of 24 workplace deaths in 2023, up from 25 the year before.