appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Lo Hoi-ying

Olga Wong

Major Hong Kong developers are considering a blanket ban on smoking by workers at construction sites following a blaze in Tai Po that killed 159, with at least two companies already demanding all their contractors impose the rule or step up penalties.
The Real Estate Developers Association told the Post on Friday that it was gathering views on the proposed smoking ban from its members, including major developers such as Sino Land, Swire Properties, Sun Hung Kai Properties and New World Development.
Association member Henderson Land Development already requires all contractors at its construction sites to ban smoking, according to a source.
Any workers who smoke on site would be required to leave, the insider said, adding that enforcement of the ban would be left for contractors to decide, including whether workers would be fined or fired.
In a video posted on Thursday that went viral online, construction workers at a site in Sham Shui Po were told they would be blacklisted from future projects if they were caught smoking.
“If I catch anyone smoking here, they will have to leave,” a man conducting a briefing said.
“You will be barred from working on all of our construction sites in the future because I will submit your name to the head office.
“Even if I don’t catch you smoking, if I see cigarette butts in the area, the contractor will be fined HK$6,000 [US$770] because they are responsible for supervision.”
The dozens of workers at the site listened intently to the stern briefing, with some nodding in response.

The source verified that the video was filmed at the site of Henderson Land’s residential project, Belgravia Place, on Berwick Street in Sham Shui Po.
According to a notice posted at the site, workers caught smoking will be fined HK$5,000 and will never be employed again by the developer.
CK Asset Holdings, another association member, said workers at all its construction sites had been prohibited from smoking, but designated smoking areas would be provided.
Any workers who violated the smoking rules would be dismissed, the company said.
But a spokesman said the company had recently strengthened its penalties, with workers who failed to follow the rules to be reported to the Construction Industry Council and permanently barred from industry employment.
According to the council, smoking is prohibited on construction sites, except in designated areas.
The city’s labour commissioner also has the power to prohibit smoking at construction sites that use flammable materials, according to the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations.

The calls for a ban come after it emerged that residents of Wang Fuk Court, the scene of last week’s inferno, had accused construction workers of smoking throughout the estate’s renovation work.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said in a press conference on Friday that legislation for a smoke-free workplace at construction sites was a top priority.
“There is an urgency to have Legco in place so that at its first meeting we can proceed with our intention to introduce a blanket ban on smoking at construction sites,” Sun said.
The estate’s towers were clad in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh nets as part of renovation work. The role of the nets in possibly accelerating the flames is one area authorities are focused on as they investigate the cause of the blaze.
On Thursday, the government’s investigation task force said it had not found any damage to the gas pipeline on the exterior wall at the spot where the fire was believed to have first broken out.
Construction sites across Hong Kong have begun posting no-smoking notices following the fire at Wang Fuk Court on November 26.
A construction and renovation worker, who goes by the username “ykhho0102” on social media platform Threads, said the scale of the tragedy had “revolutionised construction sites”.
He said the workers had their bags checked for cigarettes and lighters upon entering the site on Tuesday, and he shared a photo of a sign at his construction site stating smoking was banned and offenders would be required to leave.
He said it was “extremely rare” in the industry to find workers who had never smoked, and that there were only a few who had smoked in the past but had quit.


Hong Kong to bar firms with integrity offences from building renovation lists

Top official to determine responsible department in complex 1823 cases

Hong Kong leader pledges building maintenance reforms after fatal Tai Po fire

Hong Kong court winds up Wang Fuk Court renovation consultant over debt

Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Hong Kong developers push for smoking ban at construction sites after deadly fire

Workers at a construction site in Kai Tak. Photo: Jelly Tse

Workers are seen in a video being briefed on a no-smoking rule. Photo: Threads/Andycheung1972.

A Threads user says his construction site has put up a notice stating that smoking on-site was banned. Photo: Threads/ykhho0102

Poor fire retardance, alleged worker smoking among fatal Hong Kong blaze theories

The blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po continues to burn into the evening. Photo: Eugene Lee

The fire resistance level of the scaffolding on the buildings has come under immediate scrutiny. Photo: Eugene Lee

Some residents in the affected blocks said they had seen workers there smoking, although the official cause of the blaze has yet to be determined. Photo: Sam Tsang

Alert on net safety certificates sparks renovation probe at 2 Hong Kong estates

The deadly inferno at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po last week has led to 159 deaths as of December 3. Photo: Sam Tsang

A copy of the alleged fraudulent report by the “National Quality Supervision and Inspection Center for Labour Protective Equipment (Beijing)” included signatures and official stamps. Photo: Handout

News

Hong Kong

Society

Two developers already stepping up measures, with viral video showing workers being told: ‘If anyone is caught smoking, they will have to leave’


Two developers already stepping up measures, with viral video showing workers being told: ‘If anyone is caught smoking, they will have to leave’.


Hong Kong developers push for smoking ban at construction sites after deadly fire

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Two developers already stepping up measures, with viral video showing workers being told: ‘If anyone is caught smoking, they will have to leave’

Two developers already stepping up measures, with viral video showing workers being told: ‘If anyone is caught smoking, they will have to leave’