The Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims said on Tuesday it recorded 118 work-related deaths so far this year, a rise of 55 percent compared to the same period last year.

Among the cases, 64 were unrelated to workers collapsing, the most since the group started tracking the deaths.

The figure also marked a surge of more than 80 percent year on year.

Of the recorded deaths, 16 workers had died during the Tai Po inferno.

By industry, 50 construction workers died, followed by 16 domestic workers. Eleven people who worked in logistics or warehouses also died.

The association's chief executive, Fay Siu, said while the government attaches great importance to promoting workers' safety at construction sites, she believed renovation projects are often overlooked.

"We should implement a system called construction design safety under the law for both construction sites and renovation works," Siu said at a press conference.

"We would then be able to reduce the number of accidents by bringing in safety elements during the early planning stages, thereby reducing the number of accidents."

As to those who collapsed at work, Siu noted that more than a third of the 54 workers were older than 60.

She called on employers to provide relatively older workers with body checks to identify potential health problems early.