2 days ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Safety of Hong Kong's workers must be a top priority during extreme weather
Weather forecasting is not an exact science. It becomes even more difficult when decision-making is involved, as reflected in the debate over whether the government should have declared Tuesday's downpour as '
extreme conditions ' so workers did not have to go to their jobs during hazardous weather.
Advertisement
With the highest black signal in place for more than 11 hours, the second-longest on record, the rainstorm was indisputably one of the worst in recent years. The numerous reports of landslides, flooding, fallen trees and people trapped in lifts across the city underlined the scale of the impact.
Whether it warranted a declaration of 'extreme conditions' is open to discussion. Under the revised work arrangement guidelines after Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, the government will decide whether it is necessary to make a citywide 'extreme conditions' announcement when a super typhoon or other natural disasters of a substantial scale could prevent the public from resuming work or raise safety concerns for a prolonged period. Such conditions include large-scale power outages, fallen windows from high-rises leading to dangerous streetscapes, major landslides, extensive flooding and widespread serious obstruction of public transport services.
So far, there has been only one such announcement, which occurred
in September 2023 when a black rainstorm warning was in force for a record 16 hours. The government stopped short of suspending all work at the time and only urged employers to observe work arrangements under typhoons and adopt a sympathetic and flexible approach. Responding to public concerns on Wednesday, a spokesman said the government would consider making an 'extreme conditions' announcement based on the actual conditions and those affecting the effective resumption of work by residents, including the extent and scale of the disruption.
The work arrangements under black rainstorms, typhoons No 8 or above and extreme conditions are similar. But in the case of the latter, employees are advised to stay where they are or in a safe place instead of heading to work immediately. In any case, a declaration of extreme conditions on Tuesday would have made little difference for most workers as the black rainstorm warning effectively freed most general employees from work until after 5pm.
Advertisement
The work arrangements under different severe weather scenarios are confusing to many people. Their non-legally binding nature leaves room for non-compliance and disputes. Given that extreme weather could strike more often, more publicity is needed to ensure bosses and workers are aware of the principles and reach agreeable arrangements in advance. Safety must always be the priority.
