Evaluating the Safety Climate of Ethnic Minority Construction Workers in Hong Kong

• Published in: Journal of professional issues in engineering education and practice 2017-10, Vol.143 (4)
• Main Authors: Chan, Albert P. C, Javed, Arshad Ali, Wong, Francis K. W, Hon, Carol K. H, Lyu, Sainan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate; Construction industry; Ethnic minorities; Health; Injuries; Pakistan; Perception; Safety; Technical Papers
• ISSN: 1052-3928; 1943-5541
• DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000333

AbstractThe Hong Kong construction industry is facing a severe labor shortage due to an aging workforce and a lack of new entrants, even at a time of a construction boom. To improve this situation, ethnic minorities (EMs) have been attracted to join the construction industry. In many developed countries, however, some unofficial statistics show that EMs suffer higher fatality rates than their local counterparts. It is clear that the safety of EM construction workers requires more attention. This study evaluates the safety climate among EM construction workers in Hong Kong, predicts the impact of safety climate factors that affect the likelihood of injury occurrences, and determines the relationships between safety climate and the safety performance of EM workers. A questionnaire survey was administrated to Pakistani and Nepalese construction workers in Hong Kong. The results reveal that the overall average safety climate score for both EM groups was not very high and that the Pakistani worker scores were higher than the Nepalese worker scores. Frontline EM workers scored less than EM supervisors and managers. Among seven safety climate factors, “Workers personal involvement in safety and health” was ranked highest and “Perception of safety rules and regulations” was ranked lowest. “Risk-taking behavior and perception of work risk” and “Workers personal involvement in safety and health” were identified as significant predictors of injury occurrence. Furthermore, the safety climate is significantly associated with the degree of safety participation and safety compliance. It is expected that the findings of the study will provide insight into the level of safety climate among EM workers, enabling organizations and practitioners around the world to improve safe working among EM workers.