Few jobs provide medical checks
About 30,000 labourers in Vietnam suffer from occupational diseases, Nguyen Anh Tho, Deputy Director of the Department of Labour Safety has said.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Tho said that the figure could be much higher due to an increasing number of chemicals being used in the workplace.
According to department figures, only about 6,000 establishments survey the working environment each year. And only five percent of employees are given medical examinations to detect work-related diseases. Most of them go to healthcare centres only if they have symptoms.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that throughout the world, work-related diseases affect about two million people each year. Their death rates are six times higher than those of work accidents.
Statistics from the Health Environment Management Agency show that only about 15 percent of workplaces nationwide have facilities to monitor the working environment and conduct periodic medical check-ups.
Dr Pham Hong Luu from the Occupational Health Centre in Hanoi said acute occupational diseases could be caused by chemicals or highly poisonous substances.
A new Law on Labour Hygiene and Safety adopted by the National Assembly will take effect from July next year. It emphasises controlling harmful factors at the workplace.
The law states that every month, employers must pay a maximum of one percent of workers' wages to insurance funds set up to help those affected by work accidents or occupational disease.
About 10 percent of the fund will be used for medical check-ups and training.
In Vietnam, health insurance covers 30 occupational diseases. Among those, diseases caused by workplace dust comprise 74 percent of the total, followed by noise pollution problems with 17 percent.
Other workplace diseases are often caused by exposure to benzene, X-rays or skin-related diseases.-VNA
You should also see
PM attends ceremony to start work on Him Lam resistance centre renovation project
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 17 attended a ceremony to start work on a project to renovate Him Lam resistance centre, a part of the Dien Bien Phu complex of fortifications in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien.
See more
Videos
Hung Kings’ Commemoration Day - Vietnam’s long-held tradition
Many Vietnamese have learned by heart a “six-eight” iambic couplet verse stating that no matter how far Vietnamese people travel, they always remember the Hung Kings’ Commemoration Day. This important holiday falls on the tenth day of the third lunar month in remembrance of Vietnam’s Hung Kings.
Society
Da Nang teams up with CityNet for urban development
Leaders of the central coastal city of Da Nang on April 17 discussed cooperation measures with Jeong-kee Kim, visiting Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat of CityNet, the regional network of local authorities for the management of human settlements.
Society
Books published to mark 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory
The Su That (Truth) National Political Publishing House and the Party Committee of northern Dien Bien province on April 17 unveiled a series of books marking the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory.
Society
Roundtable talks challenges to energy systems of Vietnam, Russia
Challenges to the energy sectors of Vietnam and Russia, as well as solutions to them were discussed at an international roundtable held at Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MEI) on April 16.
Society
Remains of soldiers defending northern border reburied
A ceremony was held at the Vi Xuyen National Martyrs’ Cemetery in the northernmost province of Ha Giang on April 17 to pay tribute to and re-bury remains of nine soldiers who fell down in the battles defending the northern border.
