National Institute of Labour Protection: A 45 year-journey for workers
In the early days, the NILP had 19 employees. Along with the support of the All Union Central Council of Trade Unions (Soviet Union), besides the task of scientific research and implementation of activities supporting production enterprises on OSH, NILP had focused on building infrastructure and professional staff. On the 1st May 1977, the Sub-Institute of Labour Protection in Ho Chi Minh city and then on the 1st May 1979 the Sub-Institute of Labour Protection in Danang city were established that promptly respond to OSH requirements in the Central-Highlands and Southern provinces of the country.
During the period of industrialization and modernization of the country, in order to highlight the contribution of NILP for the general development of the country, considering its actual capacity, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 141/1998/QD-TTg which recognized NILP as one of the key leading institutes in the system of science and technology agencies of the State. Also in this Decision, the Prime Minister assigned additional mandates for NILP to timely meet demand of development of science and technology on OSH and environmental protection in the new situation.
Integrating with global development trends, implementting the policy of socialist-oriented market economic development of the Party and the State, on the 28th November 2006 the Presidium of VGCL issued Decision No. 1752/QD-TLD approving the transformation project of NILP according to Decree No. 115/2005/ND-CP dated 5th November 2005 of the Government stipulated the autonomy, self-responsibility mechanism for the public science and technology organizations. Implementing this project, NILP has gradually reorganized its sections towards both basic research in parallel with the deployment of scientific and technological applications on OSH and environment protection.
Currently, under NILP management there are centres of science and technology research, centres of application and consultancy for technology transfer, two sub-institutes (in Ho Chi Minh city and Danang city), one working environment monitoring station. NILP has established dedicated laboratories, including 03 ones meeting VILAS standards. Besides, NILP directly manages the Labour Protection magazine, the Safety-Health and Working Environmental magazine. Every year, NILP receives budget from State for building capacity of laboratories to ensure better services of research as well as international cooperation. The Institute has more than 200 officials and employees, including 1 professor, 8 PhD and doctors of science, 50 masters and more than 100 staff with university, college and intermediate degrees.
In the period 2005-2015, the Institute has implemented scientific and technology tasks with 262 projects, including 4 independent projects at national level, 11 projects under the coordination program between VGCL and the Ministry of Science and Technology, 9 projects under key programs of VGCL, 122 projects under VGCL and 116 projects under NILP. The projects have focused mainly on fundamental issues such as employees’ working conditions, scientific and technological solutions to improve working conditions and environmental protection; measures to ensure OSH, prevention of occupational accidents and diseases. In addition, some new research directions have also been promoted such as OSH management systems; building and development of clean, safe culture models in production; building forecast tools, risk assessment methods for occupational unsafety and unhealthy, working burden assessment for heavy, hazardous and dangerous industries, etc. The achieved results of scientific and technological tasks in this period have contributed to solving the urgent problems of OSH and environmental protection in industrial zones, export processing zones and in the critical areas of national economy, such as chemicals, electricity, fisheries, construction, textiles, etc; and initially coming in the field of agriculture, craft village, small industries and handicraft, informal sector, etc; in order to improve working conditions and protect the health of workers.
Most outputs of applied science and technology researches transferred from scientific and technological projects have practical value, widely used by many small and medium enterprises because of reality nature, high efficiency, competitive prices; meeting requirements of ensuring OSH and environmental protection. NILP is highly appreciated by more than 65 outstanding scientific and technological products such as: technological systems and equipments to control pollution in working environment and to protect environment; all kinds of safety equipment, personal protective equipment for employees; technical management software for OSH and environmental protection; calculation methods and assessment tools of risk created by unsafe and unhealthy work, working burden assessment, assessment and forecast of occupational hazards to workers’ health, etc. Participating in Vietnam Techmarts, NILP has introduced many scientific and technological products and was awarded eight gold cups and several merit certifications for some typical products such as automatic power cutting device for arc welding equipment in non-load operation; set-off vibration device combined with vibration gloves for workers using hand-held pneumatic drills; metal detection device in processed wood installed for wood processing machines; mini mobile robot in rush cleaning stage in ship building and repair industry; high efficiency 2-vortex anti-dust cyclones, the ultrafiltration filtres (getting an efficiency of more than 99.99%) ensuring ultra-clean environment (reaching class 1000); gravity auto-wash cleaning device; bi-fuel engines, etc. In addition, the results of researches have provided scientific basis, recommendations, consultations for the Presidium of VGCL in participating with the Government, ministries, industries in the field of building norms and standards on OSH and environmental protection, etc.
Pollution monitoring activities of working environmental are maintained stably and annually, averaging over 100 production facilities (with the frequency 2 times per year) in industrial zones throughout the country. In this period, the content and quality of pollution monitoring and evaluation indicators are increasingly improved, objectively reliable, guarantee requirements of providing working environment database for annual national environmental reports of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Besides, NILP has organized annual activities for communication and education of environmental protection in many diversified forms such as organized communication and training to raise awareness on OSH and environmental protection for more than 10,000 union members of enterprises, establishments and wards; published nearly 10,000 publications, training materials; 36,900 printed leaflets, posters released in the trade union system; 35,872 posters, banners and slogans; published over 1,000 educational CD to raise awareness on OSH and environmental protection for employers and employees in production facilities; collaborating with central and local television for educational programs to raise awareness of environmental protection for officials and employees, etc. The institute has developed and successfully applied 15 representative models that have well conducted OSH and environmental protection activities contributing effectively to the development of working capacity of the OSH activists in production facilities in particular, as well as mainstreaming OSH management system into environmental protection in general.
From 2005 to 2015, with the attention for developing investment of VGCL, the Institute has successfully completed 4 projects to strengthen research capabilities, including: 3 projects building technical infrastructure, 1 project strengthening scientific and technical equipment. These projects have contributed to improving the quality of laboratories appropriate to national standards, particularly the system of biochemical laboratories of Occupational Health Centre equipped with synchronous system could be considered as the first system of laboratories in Vietnam that is capable of studying the effects of the working environment on occupational health, studying for finding and additional recommending new occupational diseases to supplement to the existing list of insured occupational diseases. Currently, the Institute is building the laboratory for testing personal protective equipment that meets VILAS standards with qualified system for testing, assessing and validating safety equipment and personal protective equipment.
In the field of OSH training, the Institute has compiled and published several quality training materials, specific books and brochures introduced OSH legislation. In the past 10 years, 2,882 training courses on OSH and environmental protection, occupational health, first aid for working accidents and ergonomics have been organized by the Institute for 125,800 participations including managers, trade union officials and workers of production facilities. Occupational health examinations activity from 2012 to 2015 has made a drastic change in quality. Annually, about 30,000 examinations of occupational diseases and periodic health examination for workers have been conducted by the Institute. With these results and achievements in research and application of science and engineering of OSH and environmental protection in the last 10 years (2005-2015), the Institute has contributed to promote actively labour protection activities of trade union organisations in the new situation.
Noting the efforts of NILP, the Party and State have awarded the Institute many honor awards including the 2nd Class Independence Medal (2006) and the 1st Class Independence Medal (2011). In addition, NILP also received Emulation flags, Merit certificates of VGCL, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and many innovation certificates; national awards, gold medals, the gold cups for the quality of sciencetific and technological at home and abroad.
It can be affirmed that, during 45 years, the NILP has undergone critical turning points, continuously grown and developed in all aspects, meeting the increasing demand for improving OSH activity. Today, in the context of industrialization, modernization and international integration increasingly and broadly, it requires NILP to better endeavor and develop in order to be not only country-leading in scientific and technical research for labour protection and employees’ health care, but also at regional level, worthy of the stature and reputation of Vietnam trade union.
Dr. Do Tran Hai
Member of VGCL’s Presidium
General Director of National Institute of Labour Protection
(Source: nilp.vn)
