Workplace safety to be scrutinised

A worker installs steel rods to prepare for concrete basement. The Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Ministry will launch a labour inspection campaign next month to promote compliance in the construction sector.(Source :VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - A labour inspection campaign to promote compliance in the construction sector will take place from March to October this year, the labour, invalids and social affairs ministry (MOLISA) said recently.

Inspectors from the ministry will collaborate with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in managing the campaign.

The campaign aims to promote compliance with labour regulations and criteria on working conditions, health and safety in order to reduce labour accidents.

It also aims to improve the knowledge of managers and labourers about labour inspections at central and local levels, as well as to expand the sphere of the labour inspectors' influence on the application of labour regulations at enterprises and construction sites.

The target groups of the campaign are construction sites and enterprises that are responsible for the constructions. Its two phases will cover communication and inspection at enterprises.

In the communication phase, informative events and seminars will be organised in four cities and provinces across the country. Flyers, posters, notebooks and other materials to raise awareness will also be distributed to employers and labourers. Mass communication channels will also be utilised.

The inspection phase will focus on examining the workplace conditions and compliance with general regulations on labour health and safety at construction sites.

Inspectors from the labour ministry will directly participate in the inspections in some local areas, in accordance with the approved annual inspection plan.

The campaign is part of a project to promote compliance with workplace regulations through labour inspections, to be implemented by the labour ministry and the International Labour Organisation in Vietnam.

The construction sector is reportedly one of the fastest growing sectors in Vietnam, which has seen the highest number of labour accidents in the recent years.

In the first two months of this year, the number of construction accidents accounted for more than 30 percent of the total labour accidents, and the number of deaths account for nearly 40 percent of the total labour deaths.

A pilot labour inspection campaign was executed last year in the textile sector in 12 cities and provinces. It discovered nearly 1,800 violations of salary and labour safety regulations in more than 150 textile enterprises.

The inspectors recorded 19 enterprises as violating labour regulations, and imposed fines amounting to nearly 600 million VND (26,890 USD).-VNA