Establishing and developing safety culture at workplace in Vietnam

Saturday, 02/12/2023, 10:19(GMT +7)

At the World Congress held in June 2003, a global strategy on OSH had been approved by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The strategy was made from two bases which are raising safety culture and implementing OSH management system in which safety culture was especially emphasized and considered as the main theme of the annual World Day for OSH at work on April 28th.

RECENT SITUATION OF SAFETY CULTURE IN VIETNAM

In March 2004, at the meeting of 6th National Week on OSH and fire fighting held in Can Tho city, the Government of Vietnam had officially mentioned the plan of “Establishing a stable workplace safety culture”. As a result, in the past few years many regulations and contents in relation to safety culture have basically been implemented in Vietnam for example:

1. In the laws regarding to OSH, from Labour law to under law documents already have articles which stipulate that employees hold central position and need to be protected. It is the right of the employee to be ensured safety working environment, hygiene; provided PPEs sufficiently, compensated for suffering occupational diseases and accidents, trained and introduced OSH measures. Employers, managers and authorities of all levels should respect and conform to the enforcement of those regulations.

Especially, in Item 2, Clause 99 of Labour law (1995) has specified that “Employees have their rights to refuse to work and leave their working positions when clear potential of any occupational accidents that may threaten their lives and health and they should promptly report to the direct manager…”, this is the evident of the respect to employees and the viewpoint on preventing employees from occupational accidents.

Legal documents of Vietnam has clearly stipulated the rights, responsibilities and obligations of local authorities and ministries of all levels, employers and employees in OSH

2. In certain activities on OSH, Vietnam also has shown many contents appropriate with safety culture concepts:

– Improvement of awareness and knowledge on OSH for employers and employees: many training courses, promoting activities and popularizing knowledge on OSH in the past few years have been provided.

– In Labour Protection field, scientific and technological practical researches and preventive measures have been emphasized, striving for transforming from safety engineering to engineering safety.

– Mass movements have been mobilized and maintained in the whole country to the grass root levels in order to ensure the OSH works. Since 1996, VGCL has launched the movement “Green-Clean-Beauty, ensuring OSH”, combining labour protection with environmental protection, improving production culture. This helps the employees to work in clean environment, to have closer relationship with the companies, increase the productivity, quality of products and also the effect of the movement.
– The National weeks on OSH and fire fighting have been organized annually for the past 13 years showed the concern of the Government of Vietnam, the close co-ordination between authorities, ministries, employers and employees to labour protection career in the country.

3. In recent years, with the supports and technical assistance provided by ILO and other countries, many chances have been created allowing Vietnam to approach OSH viewpoints, contents and operation methods which are appropriate with the latest trend that considers Decent Work as safety job and making OSH become an important part in socio-economic development strategy of the country in the process of industrialization and modernization.

4. However, if it is reviewed and evaluated in a sufficient and systematic ways and also from the angles of significance, attitude, opinion, conduct, management organization and implementation, the execution of “safety culture” still has had a lot of shortcomings in Vietnam.

To evaluate the adequacy and shortcomings in establishing safety culture in Vietnam, some major points should be mentioned as follows:

v It still has not been sufficient in understanding and thorough grasping the viewpoints and regulations of the Government and State on OSH. Authorities, managers and scores of employees lack of knowledge or even are not be trained to grasp laws on OSH. About 70% of OSH law violation at work and occupational accidents caused by employers and employees.

v Currently in Vietnam, there are many new production sectors and businesses with their various levels of infrastructure, equipment and technological standard, working environment and condition. Especially in sectors of SME, individual production, informal workers, crafts, agriculture and rural areas; working conditions are complicated, poor or even so severe and difficult to control and manage.

v At the moment, the OSH management system in Vietnam is still inadequate, poor in validity and ineffective. Managers, researchers and OSH full-time staffs are a few in number and not upgrade knowledge and information so can not be able to satisfy the requirement of safety culture establishing in the new period.

SOLUTIONS FOR ESTABLISHING AND DEVELOPING A SAFETY CULTURE IN VIETNAM IN THE COMING YEARS

In order to contribute to the establishment and development of a safety culture in Vietnam in the coming times, some major measures should be executed as follows:
1. Initially, it is necessary to point out what contents we have to execute to establish a safety culture and what requirements of establishing the culture in the new phase of Vietnam in accordance with the complete definition of safety culture.

2. The establishment of “safety and hygiene culture” at work in Vietnam need to be put forwards basing on conditions of nature, human and standards of socio-economic development of the country as well as national cultural tradition. If we would like to have appropriate steps, we should:
– Well implementing education, awareness and responsibility of authorities, ministries of all levels; employers and employees on OSH.
– Absolutely considering the essential requirements of OSH works by eliminating risky and hazardous factors at workplace, graduately reducing hard and manual works, minimizing environmental pollution, towards improving working environment and condition, preventing occupational accident and diseases.
– It is necessary to strengthen OSH work in three aspects of activity by executing regulations and law and intensifying State administration; enhancing scientific and technological measures and developing and mobilizing the roles of the public to participate in OSH activities.
– Promoting national cultural characters, community awareness, mutual affection and mutual love tradition of our nation to display the responsibility of trade union in OSH basing on the safety culture principle of ensuring the dignity respect, life and health safety and well-being of the workers.

3. Based on the experience gained in the past few years and reference to ILO-OSH 2001 management system guideline, the OSH management system of Vietnam should be innovated and supplemented to fully complete from central to grassroot levels.

4. Intensifying to execute OSH socialization in which establishing and executing safety culture at work are considered as important contents. In each enterprise and organization, beside self-consciousness, opinions, attitude and cultured conduct; employers and employees should well implement their responsibilities for the purpose of strengthening OSH safety culture in Vietnam.

(Source: Prof. Dr. Nguyen An Luong
President of VOSHA)