Labour Department Urges Safety Precautions Ahead of Chinese New Year Holidays

Contractors/employers and employees urged to pay attention to workplace safety before Chinese New Year holidays

With Chinese New Year around the corner, the Labour Department (LD) urges contractors, employers and employees to be more vigilant and take adequate safety precautions at workplaces before the long holidays.

A spokesperson for the LD said today (February 11) that employers and employees should pay more attention to work safety before the Chinese New Year holidays to prevent accidents.

The spokesperson said, "As Chinese New Year is coming, employees may become less aware of work safety due to the festive atmosphere or may have to rush to complete work before the long holidays. Employers should therefore step up monitoring to ensure workplace safety and eliminate potential hazards through pre-holiday safety inspections, thereby minimising the chance of grave consequences during and after the Chinese New Year holidays. Safety precautions before the holidays include turning off the power for plant and machinery as well as gas welding equipment, proper storage of chemicals and stacking of materials, extinguishing ignition sources and securing temporary structures.

"Management should remind supervisors and employees not to compromise work safety for tight work schedules, including failure to take adequate safety precautions, follow safety procedures or use personal protective equipment. Risk assessments should be conducted by competent persons prior to the commencement of different work processes, with safe work method statements formulated and proper monitoring systems in place, especially for works involving high-risk operations, such as working at height, lifting operations, working in confined spaces, tunnelling works and electrical work," the spokesperson added.

Pursuant to the general duty provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, employers shall provide safe working environments, plant and systems of work for their employees. Those who contravene the relevant provisions are liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for two years.

Meanwhile, employees shall co-operate by following safety instructions and using safety equipment.

For any enquiries on occupational safety and health, please contact the LD's Occupational Safety and Health Branch at 2542 2172.

The Labour Department (LD), Photo source: reference image

TD to implement special arrangements for licence renewals before and after Budget Day

The Transport Department (TD) said today (February 11) that to prevent members of the public from rushing to the Licensing Offices to submit renewal applications for expiring or expired vehicle and driving licences before Budget Day, the TD will implement the following arrangements:

All vehicle licences eligible for renewal on or before Budget Day (February 25), i.e. vehicles that are registered at the time of renewal and have licence expiry dates falling on or before June 24, may be renewed at the present rate (note) for four months or 12 months at any time up to and including June 24;

All Hong Kong full driving licences and driving instructor's licences eligible for renewal on or before Budget Day (February 25), i.e. those expiring on or before June 24 and those that have expired for less than three years at the time of renewal, may be renewed at the present rate at any time up to and including June 24; and

The above special arrangements only apply to renewal applications for vehicle licences, Hong Kong full driving licences and driving instructor's licences that meet the conditions above, but not other licensing services.

"Eligible licence holders do not need to rush to the Licensing Offices to submit renewal applications for their vehicle or driving licences on speculation that their fees may increase in the Budget. The special arrangements are not related to the content of the Budget, about which the TD has no information," a spokesman for the TD said.

Note: For electric private cars, the present rate refers to the licence fee structure and levels effective from November 1, 2025. Since the Government provides a four-month grace period fee arrangement for eligible vehicle owners, if their vehicle licences expire on or before February 28, 2026, they may be renewed on or before the licence expiry date at the old fee level in effect before November 1, 2025.

Source: AI-found images