An upward trend in workplace accidents, including a rapid increase in fatalities, has taken place in the last five years.
Deputy head of the Labour Safety Department Do Thi Thuy Nguyet made the statement after workplace safety reports were recently sent to the department.
Reports from the country's 63 cities and provinces showed that last year alone, 6,200 workplace accidents occurred involving 6,400 people. In the 507 most serious cases, 550 workers lost their lives and another 1,200 were seriously injured. Economic losses attributed to the accidents were estimated to total 40 billion VND (nearly 2 million USD).
Nguyet, whose department falls under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said half of the workplace accidents occurred in the construction industry.
Pham Duc Hinh from the Ministry of Construction's Operations Management Department said: "Fatalities in construction work increased at an alarming rate, jumping from 172 cases in 2005 to 280 cases last year."
He said investigations had shown that the leading cause of death in construction was falling from high places. Accidental falls were responsible for 23 percent of the total workplace fatalities last year.
Nguyet said construction was a booming industry triggered by rapid urban development. From 2005-09, more than 200,000 construction companies employed nearly 2.4 million workers.
"Working in the construction industry exposes workers to a higher possibility of occupational accidents and diseases due to the frequent change of working sites and outdoor working conditions with regular exposure to the weather," she said.
Workplace accidents have become an alarming issue in Hanoi . As of August, 87 accidents had been reported which caused the deaths of 30 people. The latest case occurred at the building site of a 20-storey structure on Tam Trinh Street in July. The incident claimed the lives of three workers.
Bach Quoc Viet of the Hanoi Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said the main reason for construction-related accidents was because developers regularly flouted safety regulations.
"Construction workers often skip the delivery of training sessions about labour safety and hygiene at work, or only offer perfunctory training, while a majority of workers are unskilled and don't have a real grasp of labour safety," he said.
In sharp contrast with the increase in workplace accidents, investigations of the causes and the assigning of responsibility have remained very slow. Although 6,200 workplace accidents were reported last year, the Ministry received only 135 investigation reports. Many provinces where workplace accidents occurred have not submitted reports, including Binh Duong, Ha Nam , Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Son La.
Among the 135 reported cases, only two have been transferred to the People's Procuracy for criminal proceedings.
Nguyen Van At of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour emphasised that to put a stop to the increase in workplace accidents, one immediate measure was to adjust the construction price indices, notably the human resource price index.
"It is not easy to conduct regular inspections so we have to come at the problem from another angle. Setting clear construction prices rather than hiring contractors under package contracts will force developers to pay more attention to guaranteeing worker safety," he said.
Nguyen Thi Hang, chairwoman of the Vietnam Vocational Training Association, said to prevent more accidents from happening in the future, the long-term solution was to integrate a culture of labour safety into companies as a key part of job performance.
"The Government and relevant agencies should invest more in raising awareness about labour safety and in more training at vocational colleges," she said.
Associations co-operating with Vocational Training and Labour Safety departments are offering training for lecturers to integrate labour safety into the curriculum./.
Deputy head of the Labour Safety Department Do Thi Thuy Nguyet made the statement after workplace safety reports were recently sent to the department.
Reports from the country's 63 cities and provinces showed that last year alone, 6,200 workplace accidents occurred involving 6,400 people. In the 507 most serious cases, 550 workers lost their lives and another 1,200 were seriously injured. Economic losses attributed to the accidents were estimated to total 40 billion VND (nearly 2 million USD).
Nguyet, whose department falls under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said half of the workplace accidents occurred in the construction industry.
Pham Duc Hinh from the Ministry of Construction's Operations Management Department said: "Fatalities in construction work increased at an alarming rate, jumping from 172 cases in 2005 to 280 cases last year."
He said investigations had shown that the leading cause of death in construction was falling from high places. Accidental falls were responsible for 23 percent of the total workplace fatalities last year.
Nguyet said construction was a booming industry triggered by rapid urban development. From 2005-09, more than 200,000 construction companies employed nearly 2.4 million workers.
"Working in the construction industry exposes workers to a higher possibility of occupational accidents and diseases due to the frequent change of working sites and outdoor working conditions with regular exposure to the weather," she said.
Workplace accidents have become an alarming issue in Hanoi . As of August, 87 accidents had been reported which caused the deaths of 30 people. The latest case occurred at the building site of a 20-storey structure on Tam Trinh Street in July. The incident claimed the lives of three workers.
Bach Quoc Viet of the Hanoi Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said the main reason for construction-related accidents was because developers regularly flouted safety regulations.
"Construction workers often skip the delivery of training sessions about labour safety and hygiene at work, or only offer perfunctory training, while a majority of workers are unskilled and don't have a real grasp of labour safety," he said.
In sharp contrast with the increase in workplace accidents, investigations of the causes and the assigning of responsibility have remained very slow. Although 6,200 workplace accidents were reported last year, the Ministry received only 135 investigation reports. Many provinces where workplace accidents occurred have not submitted reports, including Binh Duong, Ha Nam , Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Son La.
Among the 135 reported cases, only two have been transferred to the People's Procuracy for criminal proceedings.
Nguyen Van At of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour emphasised that to put a stop to the increase in workplace accidents, one immediate measure was to adjust the construction price indices, notably the human resource price index.
"It is not easy to conduct regular inspections so we have to come at the problem from another angle. Setting clear construction prices rather than hiring contractors under package contracts will force developers to pay more attention to guaranteeing worker safety," he said.
Nguyen Thi Hang, chairwoman of the Vietnam Vocational Training Association, said to prevent more accidents from happening in the future, the long-term solution was to integrate a culture of labour safety into companies as a key part of job performance.
"The Government and relevant agencies should invest more in raising awareness about labour safety and in more training at vocational colleges," she said.
Associations co-operating with Vocational Training and Labour Safety departments are offering training for lecturers to integrate labour safety into the curriculum./.
