LookAtVietnam – The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has asked its inspectors to strengthen labour safety by strictly monitoring enterprises’ compliance

Inspectors should strictly fine and punish violators, especially companies that do not file complete reports in time on workplace accidents.

The ministry has called for increased awareness of safety needs and regulations on labour safety among both employers and employees, saying this would go a long way in preventing workplace accidents.

Inspectors should strictly fine and punish violators, especially companies that do not file complete reports in time on workplace accidents.

Doan Minh Hoa, head of the Labour Safety Department under MoLISA, told the Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper that 1,958 labour accidents occurred in the first six months of this year. Of these, 231 involved the death of 239 workers, she said.

She said the losses caused by the accidents had been estimated at VND11.5 billion (US$646,067).

Of them, VND10 billion ($561,797) was spent on medicines, compensation for families of dead and injured people due to labour accidents.

The department’s report showed that industrial parks and minerals exploitation companies in HCM City, Ha Noi, Dong Nai province, Binh Duong province and Quang Ninh province have had the highest number of fatal accidents.

In HCM City, the number of workplace deaths in the first six months of this year increased to 43 from 35 in the same period last year.

The failure of employers to provide adequate safety training and ensure safe working conditions and environment as required by State regulations as well as the use of unsafe equipment were major causes for workplace accidents in the country, the report said.

Low awareness among workers of risk prevention measures as well as violations of labour safety regulations by them were other factors.

The report also said the number of inspectors available was much lower than needed given the rapid growth in the number of companies over the last several years.

This prevented them from spotting violations in time.

The punishments and fines meted out for labour law violations were too low to influence future compliance, the report said.

It noted that nine provinces – Binh Thuan, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Cao Bang, Soc Trang, Ninh Thuan and Dien Bien – did not have a single labour fatality in the first six months of this year.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News