National Dialog on Occupational Safety and Health in 2018

Opening the dialog, Vice Minister of ministry of Labour, Invalid and Soacial Affairs, Mr Le Tan Dung said, implementation of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health is in the context of  economic integration more and more widely, global competition more and more bitter, the  periodical dialog on the policy on occupational safety and health is essential in order to share information and strengthen understandings between employers, employees, trade union organizations and state agencies. The dialog is also opportunity to in time give comments, adjust and supplement the legislation and policy so that they suitable with practical activity of production and social life.

 According to International Labour Organization (ILO), in the world each day there are about 6,400 deaths due to work-related accidents and diseases, 860,000 persons injured at work. The load by injury, sickness and death resulting in the big loss of mentality, human and economy arises the essential requirement to invest in Occupational safety and health at International, National and Enterprise levels. In Vietnam, now there are more than 1 million of young laborers entering to labor market each year; among them working age of 15 to 24 year old occupies 15%. Young laborers have percentage of work-related accidents of 40% higher than senior laborers have.

According to experts of labor, to well conform OSH there is a need to prepare in very earlier stage, starting within their family and community. To help young people to identify the risk and protect themselves it needs to educate them in school through vocational training. In addition, employers of formal and informal enterprises, self running business also need to have guideline on the risks and how to have measures to fix the problems that employees are facing with at work.

Mr Chang Hee Lee, director of ILO office in Hanoi  said the goal to achieve improvement of OSH for employees can be got only through the efforts of all sides, from state management agencies, employers, employees, organizations represented for employers, employees, especially young people and organizations of youth.

Also Mr Chang Hee Lee  added, in order to improve OSH for young laborers, it needs to concentrate on 5 points: (i)enhancement of collection and analysis of data,  information on OSH and young laborers; (ii)setting up, adjustment and implement of regulation, policy and guideline for better protecting health of young labo, employers, labourers; (iii)enhancing capacity to support state management agencies, employers, employees and their organizations to satisfy better requirement on OSH for young labourers; (iv)inserting OSH into education program and vocational training for young people in order to have new generation of labour with strong health and good OSH knowledge; (v) more promotion and enhancing awareness and research on the hazards and OSH risks that young labourers are facing.

At the dialog, participants discussed on the issues related with new policies that recently were promulgated and new achievement after national dialog in 2017. The organizations, agencies, enterprises proposed opinions and suggestions to the National OSH council and state management agencies about the difficulties and challenges they are facing when implementing policy and regulations related with OSH, especially how to manage enterprises on OSH training as well as initiatives on reforming administration procedure for saving time, expenses of personals, companies and improving effectiveness of state management.

The contributed opinions of participants are the basis which is used by the National OSH council to consult the Government and the National Assembly in order to issue appropriate policies to improve legal OSH system. Beside, to support and adjust present regulations and set up new ones targeting on those which have high OSH risks and vulnerable group of people including young people. The dialog is also an opportunity for management agencies, employers’ and employees’ representatives to understand each other as well as enhance their knowledge on legislation of occupational safety and health.

(Source: Vnniosh.vn)