Statutory body urged to check building works bid fixes

The Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) on Friday proposed that the government set up a statutory building maintenance management body in an attempt to prevent bid-rigging. The suggestion was among a raft of proposals submitted to Chief Executive John Lee for the city’s first ever five-year plan and his Policy Address. With more than 10,000 buildings across the city being over 50 years old, the federation said, officials need to roll out new measures to expedite urban renewal at a time when there is also a pressing need for a better maintenance system. One way of doing so, FTU lawmaker Bill Tang said, is by setting up a building maintenance management body. “What matters will this statutory body handle? If a building's owners receive a government statutory notice to comply with mandatory building inspection and repair orders, and they decide to apply for relevant government subsidies, the body will deploy the most crucial work consultant,” he said. Tang said the work consultant will directly report to the statutory body. This way, he said, it will not blindly follow “the lowest bid wins” principle as happens in many cases when some work consultants submit bids with unreasonable prices, causing buildings to suffer the risk of potential bid-rigging and unreasonable project costs. The government can then do better in gatekeeping for repair works, Tang added. The FTU also called for the government to set up a relief fund for families of industrial workers who are victims of sudden workplace incidents. FTU member Chau Sze-kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, pointed out that sudden deaths are covered by neither labour laws nor insurance companies. The result, he said, is that families of the victims are left without recourse to any support funds provided by the industries. The government, Chau added, should also work to reduce the accident rate among workers over the next five years. Edited by Thomas McAlinden