Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs announce the situation of occupational accidents to industires, localities in the first half of 2008 and some key measures to take the occupational accident prevention forward in the second half of 2008 as follows:
A. GENERAL SITUATION
I. Number of occupational accidents
According to reports of 64 provinces, cities directly under the Center in the first 6 months of 2008, there were 2,497 occupational accidents with 2,574 victims, 250 death-related occupational accidents, 266 deaths, and 546 serious injuries.
II. Situation of occupational accidents in localities.
The localities where a lot of death-related occupational accidents in the first half of the year là:
- Ho Chi Minh City: 172 accidents with 187 victims, of which there were 35 death-related accidents, 35 deaths (accounted for 13.16% of the total of deaths), 34 serious injuries;
- Long An: 48 accidents with 56 victims, of which there were 20 death-related accidents, 20 deaths (accounted for 7.52% of the total of deaths), 5 serious injuries;
- Binh Duong: 292 accidents with 292 victims, of which there were 14 death-related accidents, 14 deaths (accounted for 5.26% of the total of deaths), 21 serious injuries;
- Quang Ninh: 199 accidents with 203 victims, of which there were 13 death-related accidents, 14 deaths (accounted for 4.89% of the total of deaths), 93 serious injuries, and 3 accidents with 2 victims and above;
- Dong Nai: 942 accidents with 943 victims, of which there were 11 death-related accidents, 11 deaths (accounted for 4.13% of the total of deaths), 54 serious injuries;
- Kien Giang: 10 accidents with 22 victims, of which there were 4 death-related accidents, 10 deaths (accounted for 3.76% of the total of deaths), 2 serious injuries; 3 accidents with 2 victims and above;
- Ha Noi: 59 accidents with 60 victims, of which there were 8 death-related accidents, 8 deaths (accounted for 3.00% of the total of deaths), 17 serious injuries;
- Da Nang: 12 accidents with 12 victims, of which there were 8 death-related accidents, 8 deaths (accounted for 3.00% of the total of deaths), 4 serious injuries;
- Khanh Hoa: 53 accidents with 54 victims, of which there were 7 death-related accidents, 7 deaths (accounted for 2.63% of the total of deaths), 7 serious injuries;
- Ba Ria – Vung Tau: 22 accidents with 23 victims, of which there were 7 death-related accidents, 7 deaths (accounted for 2.63% of the total of deaths), 12 serious injuries.
B. ANALYSIS OF OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENTS
I. General assessment
1. In the first half of the year 2008, the number of occupational accidents decreased by 499 accidents (equivalent to 16.65%), the total number of victims decreased by 483 persons (equivalent to 15.80%) in comparison with the first half of the year 2007 but the number of death-related occupational accidents increased by 53 accidents and the number of deaths increased by 42 persons (equivalent to 18.75%, in the first half of the year 2007, 197 death-related occupational accidents occurred with 224 deaths);
2. The localities with a high number of death-related occupational accidents in the first half of the year 2008: Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Dương, Quang Ninh;
3. New localities where a lot of death-related occupational accidents occurred: Dong Thap, Binh Dinh;
4. Some localities with a higher number of death-related occupational accidents than the same period last year: Long An with 20 accidents (7 accidents the same period last year); Dong Thap 7 accidents (1 accident the same period last year), Ba Ria – Vung Tau 7 accidents (2 accidents the same period last year), Binh Dinh 7 accidents (1 accident the same period last year), An Giang 6 accidents (no death-related occupational accidents the same period last year);
5. The localities where no death-related occupational accidents occurred in the first half of the year 2008: Ha Giang, Ca Mau, Soc Trang, Bac Liêu, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang;
6. The localities with a lower number of death-related occupational accidents than the first half of the year 2007: Da Nang (reduced by 60% of the deaths), Hai Phong (reduced by 66.67% of the deaths), Quang Ninh (reduced by 53.33% of the deaths), Ha Noi (reduced by 37.5% of the deaths).
II. Causes of occupational accidents
1. From employers
- Didnot train occupational safety for employees: 195 accidents (accounted for 7.94% of the total of accidents);
- Equipment didnot ensure occupational safety, a lot of unsafe production machines, equipment, tools were still put into production process: 81 accidents (accounted for 3.30% of the total of accidents);
- Without equipment safety : 65 accidents (accounted for 2.65% of the total of accidents);
- Without occupational safety processes, measures: 58 accidents (accounted for 2.36% of the total of accidents);
- Didnot secure working conditions and safe working environment for employees as regulated in criteria: 39 accidents (accounted for 1.59% of the total of accidents);
- Inappropriate labour arragement (employers arranged employees without working skills to perform tasks at the workpalce, or employees with tasks requiring working skills different from competencies emplyees were trained): 29 accidents (accounted for 1.18% of the total of accidents);
- Did not provide individual protective equipment for employees: 24 accidents (accounted for 0.97% of the total of accidents);
- Objective, difficult-to-avoid factors: 452 accidents (accounted for 18.41% of the total of accidents);
- Other causes led to 486 accidents, accounting for 19.81%: as a result of irregular inspecting and reminding employees to conform to State regulations on safety, occupational safety; not seriously implementing regulations in Joint-Circular No. 14/1998/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BYT-TLDLDVN dated 31/10/1998 of Ministry of Labour Invalids and Social Affairs – Ministry of Health – Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, which provides guidance to organize the exercise labour protection in enterprises, production and business establishments, etc.
2. From employees
- 825 accidents were caused by employees’ violations of occupational safety regulations (accounted for 33.60 % of the total of accidents). A lot of employees come from the countryside without basic occupational safety training at school, and are only guided about working skills at the workplace; therefore they donot understand about occupational safety legislation, and hazards for prevention in their working environment, etc.;
- 133 accidents (accounted for 5.42% of the total of accidents) were because individual protective equipment were not used at work although they were fully provided and instructed by employers.
- 68 accidents (accounted for 2.77% of the total of accidents) were caused by other persons who violated regulations on occupational safety. Some employees, although they were basicly educated and carefully trained on occupational safety, but were subjective, just cared about productivity, poorly conformed to labour discipline, etc. And consequently causes unfortunate occupational accidents for themselves and their co-workers.
3. From State management organizations
- The inspection of the State Inspection on labour was not regular and keen, leading to the poor exercise of labour protection at enterprises;
- The number of inspections and supervisions on the implementation of labour laws at enterprises was still low and their efficiency was not high. The quanity, quality of inspectors did meet the growth rate of enterprises in both quantity and scale of production, business. A lot of localities, due to lack of labour inspectors, only organized inter-industry inspections, the number of labour inspection was very low. As a result, violations of the labour legislation were not immediately discovered, leading to a lot of serious occupational accidents as reported;
- Some production, business sectors were not regularly, immediately supervised, inspected, instructed by State management bodies; therefore, the situation of violating occupational safety laws, technical standards was common, particularly in private enterprises; among employees working in sectors of agriculture, forestry, fishery; and in individual businesses and trade villages;
- Settlements of extremely serious death-related occupational accidents were not strict: in the first half of the year 2008 Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs received 69 investigation reports or quick reports on death-related occupational accidents in localities, of which only 1 case of serious occupational accident was requested for prosecution toward criminal responsibility (the occupational accident of a collapsed brick-kiln at the brick production establishment run by Mr. Nguyen Van Du, Phu Xuyen District, Ha Tay Province). Administrative settlements within competence for persons who had violations causing serious occupational accidents were also not serious, and timely;
- Causes of some accidents were not corrently identified, thus efficient solutions were not provided to prevent occupational accident occurrence.
III. Physical damages and losses
According to temporary reports from localities, physical damages and losses following occupational accidents in the first half of the year 2008 (expenses relating to medical treatment, burial services, compensations for families of deaths and injuries, etc.) amounted to VND12,625,000,000, property losses were VND659,300,000, the number of days-off (including regime-based days-off) following occupational accidents totalled 27,152 days.
IV. Some serious occupational accidents in the first half of the year 2008
- An occupational accident at Nui Beo stone exploitation establishment, Ha Nam Province on 06/1/2008 caused 3 deaths.
- An occupational accident in a collapsed brick-kiln at the brick production establishment run by Mr. Nguyen Van Du, Phu Xuyen District, Ha Tay Province on 07/1/2008 killed 6 and injured 4 others
- An accident in a collapsed stone-pit in Len Nay District, Quynh Luu, Nghe An on 12/1/2008 caused 3 deaths, 7 injuries…
Main causes of the above serious occupational accidents were breaches of safety working processes and measures.
V. The situation of investigating and recording occupational accident report
1. Investigating.
Overall, occupational accidents were investigated as regulated in Circular liên tịch No. 14/2005/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BYT-TLDLDVN dated 08/3/2005 of Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs – Ministry of Health – Vietnam General Confederation of Labour. However, a lot of localities didnot exercise the requirement to send quick reports on serious occupational accidents and still delayed in sending investigation reports to Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. Of the 217 death-related occupational accidents the first half of the year, by 31/7/2008 Ministry of Labour – Invalids and Social Affairs just received investigation reports or quick reports on 69 occupational accidents. The delay, as explained by a lot of localities, was because Public Security institutions delayed the transfer of occupational accidents files to province-level occupational accident investigation commissions (not conformable to regulations in Joint Circular No. 01/2007/TTLT/ BLÐTBXH-BCA-VKSNDTC dated 12/1/2007).
Localities, which organized proactive, immediate investigations of occupational accidents and seriously followed the requirement of quick reports on serious occupational accidents were: Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City (Ho Chi Minh City sent investigation reports and quick reports on 35/35 death-related occupational accidents).
2. Reporting occupational accidents.
Reporting the situation of occupational accidents according to the new forms regulated in Joint Circular No. 14/2005/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BYT-TLDLDVN dated 08/3/2005 of Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs – Ministry of Health – Vietnam General Confederation of Labour was exercised by localities. However, some localities didnot analyze the general situation of occupational accidents but just only recorded the total number of death-related occupational accidents.
A lot of localities didnot fully recorded and reported the number of enterprises operating within the localities and the number of enterprises having reports on the occupational accident situation; some requirements in the report form were not fully updated and finalized or incorrect, unlogical, which showed a lack of resonsibility for tasks of recording, reporting; delayed in sending reports to Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs later than the requirement (only 13of the 64 localities sent reports ontime). Therefore, the finalization and evaluation of the situation of occupational accidents nationwide in the first half of the year 2008 met a lot of difficulties.
The situation of enterprises without reports on occupational accidents as regulated has caused more difficulties for statistics of occupational accidents. According to temporary statistic data in the first half of the year 2008 only 6,658 enterprises sent reports, accounting for 4.21% of the total of the recorded enterprises. Ha Noi had only 177 enterprises with reports, which accounted for 0.35% of the total of 50,318 enterprises; Da Nang had 17 enterprises with reports, Ho Chi Minh City had 130 enterprises with reports but both of the localities didnot record the total number of enterprises operating within the locality, etc.
C. SOME KEY SOLUTIONS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN THE FUTURE
Based on the situation and causes of occupational accidents in the first half of the year 2008, to take the prevention of occupational accidents forward in the future, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs request Ministries, Sectors, localities and enterprises to well implement key measures as follows:
1- Labour Inspection shall strengthen inspection of the implementation of State regulations on safety, occupational safety in all enterprises of various economic sectors. Special attention shall be paid to non-State enterprises and sectors of: construction; assembly and installment, electricity repair and use; mineral and stone exploitation; use of equipment with serious requirements on occupational safety. Resolutely, seriously and immediately settlements shall be imposed on violations of labour laws, particularly for violations that donot seriously conform to regulations to record and report occupational accidents, as promulgated in Decree No. 113/2004/ND-CP dated 16/4/2004 of Government.
2- Ministries, Sectors, Corporations shall strengthen the inspection and organization and guidance for establishments within management responsibility to fully exercise State regulations on occupational safety and labour protection regimes. Occupational safety training shall be fully organized for employers as regulated in Circular No. 37/2005/TT-BLDTBXH dated 29/12/2005 of Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.
3- Employers shall regularly inspect machinery, equipment and improve working conditions to secure a safe working environment for employees; fully develop processes, measures for safety, occupational safety as guided in technical criteria, standards of occupational safety and guide employees for their implementation prior to work; organize training on occupational safety for employees according to regulations in Circular No. 37/2005/TT-BLDTBXH dated 29/12/2005 of Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs; strengthen propaganda, education for employees so that they can self-exercise regulations on safety, occupational safety. Special attention shall be paid to employees engaged in hard, dangerous and hazardous jobs or exposed to objects subject to strict occupational safety and health requirements.
4- The coordination with competent institutions shall be well organized to timely, accurately investigate death-related occupational accidents in enterprises of all economic sectors to help enterprises quickly recover production, business following occupational accidents and to secure time to investigate and develop reports on occupational accidents as regulated by laws. It is important to pay attention to small-and medium sized enterprises with complicated, hazardous, production processes negatively affecting environment but with poor awareness to prevent occupational accidents.
5- Propaganda of safety, occupational safety laws shall be strengthened to improve responsibility of establishments, production and business establishments and employees so that every one can have good awareness of occupational accidents prevention./. Nguồn:
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