Guidelines of the Communist Party and Legislation of the State on labour protection
a. Guidelines of the Communist Party
The Communist Party always pays attention to the rights and health of workers, as has been noted in the Documents of the VI, VII, VIII, IX National Communist Party Congresses.
The documents of the VII Communist Party Congress confirmed “...improve to a higher level the working conditions, staying and eating, traveling and rest for workers...” (Truth Publishing House, 1991).
The documents of the VIII Communist Party Congress clearly noted “... it is necessary to check and monitor the employment, use of workers, ensuring the compliance with the regulations on labor protection, occupational safety..., protecting the rights of workers” (Truth Publishing House, 1996)
The Documents of the IX Communist Party Congress noted “...paying attention to improvement of working conditions, ensuring the occupational safety and health, preventing the occupational accidents and occupational diseases for workers” (National Politics Publishing House, 2001).The X Communist Party Congress confirmed in the direction and duties of the 5 years socio-economic duties in 2006-2010 “… good implementation of the scheme on labour protection, OSH” (Document of the X Communist Party Congress).
b. Legal framework
Article 56 of the Constitution 1992 regulates: the State issues the policies and regimes on labor protection
Article 95 of Labour Code specifies that: "The Government is in charge of building the National programme on labour protection, occupational safety and health and integrates it into the socio-economic development plan and State budget”.
Concretizing the above Article, in the Article 17 of the Decree 06/CP issued on 20 January 1995 by the Government (revised and supplemented in 2002) clearly defines that: “The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health in coordination with concerned Ministries and Sectors will build the National programme on labour protection, occupational safety and health and then submit it to the Government for its integration into the socio-economic development plan”
Instruction no. 13/1998/CT-TTg issued on 26 March 1998 by the Government on promotion of guidance and implementation of labour protection in a new context, the Prime Minister guides that: “The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in coordination with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, concerned Ministries and Sectors studies to develop the National programme on labour protection, occupational safety and health as regulated in Article 95 of Labour Code”
Instruction no. 20/2004/CT-TTg issued on 8th June, 2004 by the Prime Minister on Enhancement of guiding and implementation of OSH in agriculture also specifies that: “... to develop the Action Programme on OSH in agricultural production and supplement this Programme into the National Action Programme on OSH, Fire and Explosion Prevention and Fighting”
Decision no. 40/2005/QD-TTg dated 28th February, 2005 of the Prime Minister on establishment of the National Council on Labour Protection, assigned the tasks of providing the consultation relating to guiding methods, management and implementation of the National Programme on Labour Protection by the Council to the Prime Minister
Viet Nam was the first Asian country to ratify the Convention No. 155 of the ILO (1981) on Occupational Safety – Health and Working Conditions. In the Convention, it is regulated that the ratifying country is responsible for developing and implementing the policies and National Programme on OSH, ensuring improvements of working conditions for prevention of occupational accidents and injuries during working process.
From the above-mentioned basis, it is necessary and urgent to develop and implement the National Programme on Labour Protection, Occupational Safety, Occupational Heath 2006-2010 in order to promote sustainable development of production, based on ensuring the safety and health for workers and contributing to the successful implementation of the socio-economic development strategy 2001-2010 of the Communist Party.
I. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME
1. General objectives
To pay attention to improving working conditions, to reduce pollution of the work environment; to prevent occupational accidents and occupational diseases, taking care of workers’ health; to improve awareness of and compliance with laws on labour protection, ensuring the lives and happiness of the people and the assets of the State, contributing to the sustainable development of the nation.
2. Specific targets to 2010
- Reduction of serious and fatal occupational accidents. Reduce by 5% the annual occupational accident frequency rate in particularly hazardous sectors (mining, construction, use of electricity)
- Reduce by 10% the number of newly contracted cases of occupational disease; ensure that more than 80% of workers in production units with a high risk of occupational disease have their health checked for occupational diseases
- 100% of workers diagnosed with occupational accidents and occupational diseases are treated, provided with health care and rehabilitation services
- More than 80% of workers in sectors and jobs with strict occupational safety and health requirements and OSH officers are trained in OSH
- Ensure that 100% of fatal occupational accidents and serious occupational accidents are investigated and handled.
II. DURATION – SCOPE OF THE PROGRAMME:
The programme is implemented over 5 years from 2006 to 2010 (the life span of each project is based on the objectives and can be adjusted to suit the each situation.
The program will be conducted nationwide.
III. CONTENTS OF THE PROGRAMME:
The Programme on Labour Protection, Occupational Health and Occupational Safety includes the following 7 main contents:
1. Activities to enhance and improve the effectiveness of the State administration on labour protection, including consolidation of the management model of State administration on labour protection and OSH; to consolidate the legal framework on labour protection; to conduct a comprehensive survey on occupational accidents; to build capacity for the system of labour inspection, investigation and supervision of occupational accidents; to set up the OSH management model in enterprises; to establish the Compensation fund for occupational accidents and occupational diseases; to strengthen, invest in and build new rehabilitation centers for victims of occupational accidents and diseases; to set up an International Programme for technical assistance and training in OSH.
2. Activities to improve working conditions in enterprises, to prevent occupational accidents with focus on some particularly hazardous sectors such as mining, use of electricity, construction…; small and medium-sized enterprises, agricultural sector and rural occupations; limit the cases of TNT poisoning in storage, maintenance, repair and treatment of technical equipment for security and defense purposes.
3. Activities to prevent occupational diseases, to provide health care services and rehabilitation of work capacity for workers, including: enhancement of supervision, effective control of hazardous elements causing occupational diseases; consolidation and strengthening of examination, diagnosis, confirmation and treatment of occupational diseases and rehabilitation activities; investment to upgrade units for examination and treatment of occupational diseases, and to supplement the list of occupational diseases; enhancement of publicity and education on the risks and harmful consequences of occupational diseases.
4. Activities to improve the awareness and responsibilities of management levels, of organizations and individuals through building capacity in the dissemination of information, publicity, training and organization of the activities relating to information dissemination, training (building website, organization of the National Week on Occupational Safety and Health – Fires and Explosions Prevention and Fighting, survey on the needs of information and training...) and promote the mass movements on labour protection in industrialization and modernization processes.
5. Activities to study and effectively apply the achievements of labour protection science and technology in order to improve working conditions, settle work environment pollution in the manufacturing sectors, especially for some very hazardous sectors (mining and quarrying, metallurgy, fertilizers – chemicals…) to minimize occupational diseases as well as apply safe work methods to minimize occupational accidents for workers using particularly hazardous equipment and machines.
6. Activities of Ministries, Sectors, enterprises and production units in developing the programme, work plan on labor protection and occupational health and safety to suit the types of production and businesses of each sector or enterprise, including improvements in work conditions, prevention of occupational accidents and occupational diseases, and commitment to high quality occupational health and safety activities and to build a safety culture at work.
7. Activities to review and supervise by projects and by period in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.
The full text of National Program on Labour Protection, Occupational and safety and health 2006 - 2010 Nguồn:
Bureau for Safe Work | 