An Indonesian migrant worker (PMI) was found lying in the parking lot of Block A, Jalan King Fung Yuen, Tin Hau Temple, North Point, around 10 am today. Initial police investigation stated that the 37-year-old PMI allegedly fell from the balcony while cleaning the window. However, until now, the police are still conducting further investigations to confirm it, Thursday (14/1/2021).
When the rescue team arrived to carry out inspections and sealed off the scene, they took out a tent to cover the victim’s body before entering the unit inside the building for investigation. Police confirmed that the woman had died on the spot.
According to Apple Daily, on the eve of Chinese New Year, employers in Hong Kong often ask their workers to clean every inch of their homes. Work accidents like this have happened before, several people accidentally fell from buildings and died, when they were asked to clean windows.
The Department of Labor in Hong Kong has passed a regulation that workers are only allowed to clean windows on the ground floor, windows on the terrace or have a balcony and workers can clean windows with the following conditions: windows must be installed with iron bars that are locked with security guarantees, when cleaning the window must have an employer or an adult representative from the employer who supervises the worker when cleaning the window, and when cleaning the window body parts must not come out of the window, so only the hands may be outside the window.
Some housekeeping experts believe that accidents are often caused by negligence, and remind the public to pay attention to safety, and pay attention to these two safety rules. Since Monday, November 14, 2016, the Hong Kong Ministry of Labor has officially announced the ban on window cleaning. This rule has been included in the standard employment contract. If there is still an employer who orders to clean the window glass in a tall building, the worker has the right to refuse it.
However, if workers are forced to clean windows, under no circumstances should workers move other body parts out of the window, nor should they rest on window frames or window grilles. Workers are also asked to never stand on benches to clean windows, or even climb out of windows and stand on canopies or small flower troughs on outer walls.
Workers also need to communicate with employers to buy window cleaning tools such as “retractable sticks”. Or use the “window cleaning robots” that have appeared on the market in recent years. These “robots” are usually equipped with a safety rope component and a special anti-fall suction cup. They also have a single power backup system, even if the power is removed, the Robot can also be continuously adsorbed on the glass surface for more than ten minutes to ensure safety, and there are various window cleaning functions to choose from, which can clean the window glass in a short time, but the price can exceed 4,000 yuan.
