Burst
Written by: Deng Boliang
2021-03-29 00:00
Last update date: 2021-03-29 00:00
Mr. Zeng, a 43-year-old baker, worked alone in the store, and suddenly fainted and died suddenly.
According to the widow, the cause of death on the husband’s death certificate listed "diabetes and high blood pressure complications", and the story was classified as "sudden death during work", and it was not listed as work injury treatment. The family members could not get any work injury compensation or funeral. fee.
A spokesman for the Labour Department said that after learning of the accident, it had sent personnel to the scene to conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. The investigation is still ongoing.
Lin Jingyi, secretary of the Industrial Injury Rights Association, pointed out that taking Mr. Zeng’s case as an example, if an employee died of his own illness, he would generally not be able to obtain work-related injury compensation.
Even though Mr. Tsang revealed that the workload is heavy and very hard, Hong Kong has not yet enacted legislation on "overwork", and the labor laws have not clearly defined what is meant by "overwork." Therefore, the Employees' Compensation Ordinance does not protect "overwork." "The case.
Lin Jingyi said that Mr. Zeng was the only one working at the time of the accident, and there was no closed-circuit television installed in the kitchen. Therefore, it is impossible to confirm whether Mr. Zeng died due to falling and losing rescue during work, or because of his own hidden illness.
However, the cause of death on Mr. Zeng's death certificate is "diabetes and hypertension complications". Generally speaking, he cannot obtain work injury compensation.
Lin Jingyi explained that if the cause of death is an employee’s own illness, it cannot be treated as a work injury. In this case, the funeral expenses included in the labor insurance compensation cannot be claimed.
Lin also said that many companies in Fangwen take the initiative to purchase medical insurance for their employees, but they are only voluntary and illegally mandatory, and generally only provide medical cards for employees.
For some high-risk occupations, such as the construction industry, companies will purchase additional life insurance for their employees.
Lin pointed out that wage earners can of course purchase medical, accident and life insurance according to their family's needs, but Mrs. Zeng's financial situation may not be able to afford it.
Since Mr. Zeng had revealed that the workload was heavy and very hard while working in the bakery, would the cause of death be related to "overwork"?
Lin Ching-yee explained that according to the current Employees' Compensation Ordinance, employers must be liable for compensation in accordance with the law only when employees suffer from work-related accidents or contract occupational diseases specified in the ordinance.
The labor law has not yet clearly defined what is meant by "overwork". Therefore, the Employees' Compensation Ordinance does not protect cases of "death from overwork", and the Workers' Rights Association has never encountered a worker who died due to "overwork" in the past. Cases receiving compensation.
The death from overwork in Japan is quite serious, leading the local government to legislate the problem squarely.
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Lin added that referring to legislation on "overwork" in other countries, it will examine whether workers who have died of overwork have worked 24 hours beforehand and whether they have enough rest. The degree of work and the degree of fatigue may not be based on working hours alone. .
Take Japan as an example. If an employee commits suicide by jumping from a building due to too much work pressure, he may also have a chance to rule that it is "death from overwork."
In addition, the Labor Department commissioned the Occupational Safety and Health Bureau in 2017 to study the deaths of employees due to cardiovascular disease or cerebrovascular disease when they went to work, and used questionnaires to investigate the employees’ work, health, etc., and then analyze the work. The problem with the situation and its death is known to be expected to come out this year.
Lin Jingyi pointed out that the Workers' Rights Association will continue to actively liaise with the Labour Department to discuss the issue of overwork.
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The middle-aged baker fainted and died suddenly. The widow was suffering from cancer, fearing to spread.
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