I. Situation of labour accidents in 2018
According to information on the situation of labour accidents in 2018 of the Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs, in 2018, there were 7,997 cases of labour accidents nationawide, causing 8,229 people injured (including in both areas where labour relations are established via contracts and areas devoid of labour contracts); in which, 972 9 cases were fatal occupational accidents, 112 cases caused two or more people injured, the number of deaths due to labour accidents was 1039, the number of seriously injured people was 1,939, the number of female workers suffered from labour accidents was 2667.
Regarding the cases of labour accidents where workers had contractual labour relations with their employers, both the number of cases and the number of deaths reduced compared to 2017. In the area without labour contracts, the number of labour accidents increased by 18.6%. However, records of serious labour accidents (causing 2 or more people injured) show an increase. In 2018, there were still 17 cases of labour accidents which caused 2 or more deaths.
The regions with the highest number of deaths due to work accidents in 2018 including the area with contractual labour relations and the area without labour contracts were Ho Chi Minh city, Hanoi, Hai Duong, Thai Nguyen, Yen Bai, Dong Nai, Quang Ninh, Ca Mau, Quang Tri and Binh Duong.
The main risk factors for injury which caused the most cases of deaths were traffic accidents, falls from height, falling objects, collapses, electric shock, milling machines, clamping equipment, flying objects, etc. Sectors of business and manufacturing with the highest number of occupational accidents included construction, manufacturing of construction materials, textiles, footwear, mining, mineral exploitation, mechanics, metallurgy, etc.
According to the analysis from the records of investigation into cases of fatal labour accidents in 2018, the cases in which employers caused labour accidents accounted for 46.49% of all cases. The cases in which employers did not build safety procedures and measures accounted for 34.56%; the cases in which accidents caused by inappropriate working conditions and organization accounted for 9.64%; the cases in which employers did not provide training in occupational safety for their workers or the training was inadequate accounted for 7.02%; and the cases in which the equipment did not ensure labor safety accounted for 0.88% of all the cases of labour accidents.
The cases in which workers violated the labour safety standards and measures accounted for 18.42% of the total number of cases. The remaining 35.06% is due to other causes.
According to data from local preliminary reports, the capital losses caused by labour accidents occurred in 2018 amounted to VND 1,494 million, comprised of: the cost of medicine, funerals, and compensation for the families of the dead and the injured, etc.; property damage caused VND 5.0 billion in losses; the total number of days off work due to labour accidents was 127,034.
II. Some solutions to prevent labour accidents in the coming time
1. Ministries and sectors shall direct enterprises in the sectors and domains under their management to actively inspect occupational safety and health (OSH); coordinate with the Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs in supervision and inspection of enterprises operating in areas with high risks of labour accidents and serious incidents such as construction and manufacturing of construction materials, textile, footwear, mining, minerals, especially of key construction projects, adjacent to residential areas or crowded areas;
2. People's Committees of provinces and cities shall direct appropriate authorities:
- To intensify supervision and inspection over the implementation of regulations on OSH in enterprises, pay attention to the building of processes and measures to ensure safety in enterprises; make reports on occupational in conformity with the Law on Occupational Safety and Health;
- To push forth dissemination and education of knowledge and laws on OSH in accordance with specific field and occupation, giving priority to the dissemination and education of laws on OSH for workers who do not work under labour contracts.
- To strengthen investigation into cases of labour accidents for workers who do not work under labour contracts.
- To enhance the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases with the support from the occupational accidents and diseases fund, report to the Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs;
- To offer guidance on preparing statistics and reports of labour accidents occurred to people who do not work under labour contracts; make records of labour accidents occurred to people who do not work under labor contracts;
- To implement the development of regulations on coordination to investigate fatal labour accidents and other occupational accidents which shows signs of a criminal case.
3. Enterprises shall strengthen the implementation of the work to ensure OSH, pay attention to activities of self-inspection, proactive control and prevention of harmful risk factors in enterprises, prevention of labour accidents due to falls from height, electric shock, falling objects, collapses; organize the training on labour safety and health for workers;
5. Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall disseminate information and mobilize people to pay attention and attach special care to the development of internal regulations, processes and measures to ensure occupational safety and health and the improvement of working conditions at their workplace; organize the dissemination and education on the Law on OSH for members;
6. The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor shall promote the dissemination of information and mobilize workers to observe rules and regulations on safety, utilize personal protective equipment in order to minimize the possibility of labor accidents, ensuring safety, health and life for workers.
(Source: Vnniosh.vn)