Author Archives: hksar gov

     â€‹As the Heat Stress at Work Warning is now in effect, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and employees to take appropriate measures during the effective period of the warning to prevent heat stroke when working in hot weather or hot environments.
      
     Employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor environments face high levels of heat stress and are at a relatively higher risk of heat stroke. Employers should assess the risk factors of heat stress for employees at work and, based on the identified risk factors, take necessary preventive and control measures, including rescheduling work periods, setting up shading covers, providing ventilation and heat dissipation equipment, and reminding employees to replenish water and rest in a timely manner.
      
     The Heat Stress at Work Warning is formulated by the LD based on the Hong Kong Heat Index. There are three levels of the warning: Amber, Red and Black, which help employers and employees better understand the level of heat stress while working outdoors or indoors without air-conditioning systems.
      
     A spokesman for the LD said that when the department issues the Heat Stress at Work Warning, employers must refer to the criteria and recommendations provided in the “Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work” to conduct risk assessments, according to the workloads and other relevant heat stress risk factors, for employees who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned indoor workplaces. Appropriate rest breaks should be arranged every hour, as far as reasonably practicable, based on various levels of the Heat Stress at Work Warning, to reduce employees’ risk of heat stroke.
      
     Employees must also follow instructions to rest on time. Whenever there are any symptoms of heat-related illnesses, such as headache, dizziness, thirst, and nausea, they should rest in a cool and shady place, drink water, and inform employers/supervisors to take appropriate action immediately.
      
     The LD issued the “Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work”, detailing the various risk factors that should be considered when conducting heat stress risk assessments and recommending corresponding control measures for identified risk factors for employers’ and employees’ reference. For the Heat Stress at Work Warning and related guidelines, please refer to the department’s thematic webpage: www.labour.gov.hk/eng/news/prevention_of_heat_stroke_at_work.htm. read more

     â€‹The 2023 provisional register and the omissions list for the Rural Representative Election (RRE) were released today (August 25). Members of the public may log into the RRE Voter Registration Information Enquiry System through the RRE website (www.had.gov.hk/rre) to check their own registration particulars, as well as to check from the website whether they are listed on the omissions list, from today to September 9. They may also call the RRE hotline at 2152 1521 during ordinary business hours of the above-mentioned period to check the relevant information.

Lodging statutory claims or objections

     Any person who considers a registered person not eligible for registration may lodge a notice of objection in person with the office of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or the relevant Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) (Officers’ office) (the office addresses are set out in the form) during ordinary business hours on or before September 8. 

     Any person who has been determined by the ERO as not eligible to be registered, or whose application for registration was not considered further by the ERO, or who has made an application for registration but whose name is not recorded in the relevant provisional register, or whose name is included in the omissions list, or who has a claim to make about his or her particulars in the provisional register, may lodge a notice of claim in person during the above-mentioned period.

     If the principal residential address of the person who makes the claim is not in Hong Kong, he or she may lodge a notice of claim in person, or authorise a person in writing to lodge on his or her behalf during the above-mentioned period. He or she may also deliver a notice of claim to the Officers’ office by post, by fax or by electronic means (an electronic record authenticated by a digital signature) on or before September 9 (Hong Kong time).

     The specified forms for lodging a notice of objection or a notice of claim can be obtained from the Officers’ office. They can also be downloaded from the RRE website.

     Upon receiving the notice of claim or the notice of objection, the Revising Officer will hear the case as soon as practicable within the statutory deadline. To enhance transparency, and assist persons concerned and members of the public to attend the hearings, information about the hearings of the claims and objections (including the date, time and venue of the hearings, and the names of the claimants/objectors/electors being objected to) will be uploaded to the RRE website before the day of the hearing. 

Arrangements for inspection of provisional register and omissions list

     A full copy of the provisional register and the omissions list will be placed at the office of the ERO located at the Home Affairs Department (HAD), 30/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, while a copy of the specific divisions of the provisional register and the omissions list for a rural area that belongs to the rural committees concerned will be placed at the offices of the AEROs in the respective New Territories District Offices (NTDOs). Pursuant to sections 19 and 22 of the Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors) (Rural Representative Election) Regulation (Cap. 541K) (the Regulation), specified persons, including members of the press (means persons who subscribe to the Government News and Media Information System maintained by the Director of Information Services), political parties (i.e. political bodies/organisations which meet the specified requirements under the Regulation), Heung Yee Kuk, respective Rural Committees for the relevant Rural Areas, indigenous inhabitants of the relevant Indigenous Villages or Composite Indigenous Villages and residents of the relevant Existing Villages or Market Towns for purposes relating to the RRE, can inspect the aforementioned provisional registers of electors and the relevant omissions list during ordinary business hours from August 25 to September 8.

     Specified persons who wish to inspect the registers of electors and the omissions lists may make appointments by calling the RRE hotline or the relevant NTDOs during ordinary business hours from today to September 8. 

     The ordinary business hours of the HAD and NTDOs in respect of the above matters are from 9am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except general holidays).

     For further details, please visit the RRE website or call the RRE hotline. read more

Attention TV and radio duty announcers:        Please broadcast the following special announcement as soon as possible, and repeat it at suitable intervals:      A fire broke out in Kwong Pan Tin Tsuen, Tsuen Wan… read more

     As at noon today (August 24), the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has conducted tests on radiological level of two food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found at CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).
      
     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological tests. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found in AFCD’s website (https://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
      
     Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly or excessive radiation was detected so far. For details, please refer to HKO’s websites (https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
  read more

     Police yesterday (August 23) reclassified a wounding case happened in Kwai Chung on August 20 as manslaughter.      At 9.54am on August 21, Police received a report from a woman that, on August … read more