Occupational Safety & Health Training in Viet Nam

In recent years, thanks to na­tional policies to boost the econ­omy and encourage foreign in­vestment, Viet Nam has seen great socio-economic achieve­ments. This development has coincided with a rapid increase in the number of enterprises and household businesses, resulting in about 160,000 enterprises and 2.6 million household business­es currently in Viet Nam. How­ ever, the implementation of OSH measures has not matched the economic development.

The use of new technologies, equipment, machinery and ma­terials has brought new hazards to the workplace. A recent sur­vey on working conditions con­ducted by Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has shown that only 20% of workplaces meet OSH requirements while 8% have ex­tremely poor conditions. Overall the number of people working in hazardous and dangerous environment accounts for 49.9% of the total workforce for all enter­ prises.

Occupational accidents have increased in recent years. Ac­cording to incomplete data, in 2003 there were 3,896 incidents involving 4,089 people, resulting in 513 deaths, in 2004 there were 6,026 incidents (an increase of 54.67%) involving 6,186 people, resulting in 575 deaths. In 2004 the number of people suffering from occupational disease or ill­ ness also increased by 55.08% compared to the previous year, bringing the total number dur­ing this period to nearly 21,000 people.

One of the main reasons for the increase in occupational ac­cidents is a poor understanding and lack of awareness of OSH by both employers and workers, and although employers are required by law to provide training in OSH, there remains a low re­ sponse rate particularly in the private sector. Some unsolved shortcomings have been identi­ fied:

- The number of workers trained in OSH is low and the quality of training is poor. Of the 43 million workers in the country, 77.5% have no vocational train­ ing and lack knowledge about OSH. Some training manuals and videos have been developed for the industrial sector but only 10% of OSH officers in State en­ terprises, joint venture compa­ nies or large private enterprises have on-going training or re­ fresher courses in OSH.

- In agriculture, OSH training has been limited, apart from some courses developed as part of the lLO / Japan project "Capacity building ofOSH in agriculture in Vietnam" which helped train farmers to improve working con­ ditionsand provided guidance on the safe use of electricity, agricul­ tural machinery and agri-chemi­cals.

- OSH training has not kept pace with the rapid development of industry, and the various topics may be out of date or need up­ grading.

- Training methods are theory­ oriented, unpractical, and lack real-life examples.

- Training materials for OSH have not been standardized, and field-based training is limited.

Training helps to raise awareness and plays an impor­ tant role in both the prevention and reduction of occupational ac­ cidents and diseases. Training in OSH should be high on the agen­ da to improve the working envi­ronment and reinforce a safety culture, so that by the year 2010, 80-100% of employers and em­ployees, interns and vocational students are trained in OSH. To achieve this level of understand­ ing, a focus should be made on the following:

- Development ofa national poli­cy in OSH, that encourages qual­ity based training that meets the requirements of businesses and keeps pace with economic devel­opment.

- Development of long-term training plans with specific plans suitable for different branches, trainees and updated technolo­gies, sciences to improve OSH knowledge of state management officers, employers and employ ees;

- Update OSH training materi­als, incorporating modern train­ing methods that combine theo­ry with practice through action plans and teaching aids. Formal evaluation of the competence of the trainer and relevance of the subject;

- Incorporation ofOSH training into the wider education system i.e. universities, colleges, techni­cal schools, vocational schools and secondary schools; update OSH manuals and workbooks used by teachers and students;

- Development of OSH training establishments; form up a system of standard OSH training centres for the main economic and industrial zones, but initially in 3 regions: North, Centre and South with proper infrastruc­ture, equipment and skilled train­ers.

- Conduct refresher courses for managers, researchers, labour inspectors, technical consultants of machines, equipment, sub­ stances with strict requirements of OSH. Promote short trainings on OSH for managers and em­ployers in production establish­ments, particularly those in high risk industries;

- Encourage international orga­nizations in Vietnam and over­ seas to assist training activities, particularly training of trainers in OSH.

Based on the above recom­mendations we hope that every­ one in society will better un­derstand the importance of OSH, and together we can work toward preventing or reducing occupational accidents and ill­ nesses to improve all our lives.

  Return    Print    Tell friends    Go Top