Vietnam workers pay a deadly price
HO CHI MINH CITY - Workplace accidents are occurring more
frequently in Vietnam and claiming at least one life each day, say officials.
Employers blame the worsening situation to workers' ignorance and
irresponsibility, but labor groups and government officials say it is the
company bosses who need to shape up. Indeed, they say, employers
across the country are simply neglecting safety standards in the
workplace.
Official data indicate that work-related accidents have escalated in
Vietnam's main industry hubs - Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Thai
Nguyen - in the past five years. In the first six months of 2000 alone,
there were 1,418 accidents, or 23 percent more than in the same period
of 1999. These accidents resulted in 174 deaths and 443 serious injuries
out of a total of 1,479 victims.
In Ho Chi Minh City, unofficial statistics show that 281 labor accidents
have already occurred this year, with 17 people killed and 280
wounded. Losses have amounted to some 400 million dong, or about
US$28,570. Of these accidents, 156 were caused by machinery
operations, 10 by electric shocks and two by acetylene cylinder
explosions.
Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (Molisa) Deputy Minister
Nguyen Luong Trao says that these figures are even higher as many
occupational accidents go unreported, particularly those in fisheries,
construction and non-state sectors. He also observes that most accidents
- especially those at construction sites, textile mills and mechanical
factories - result from outdated equipment, lack of labor protection
equipment and violations of labor safety rules.
Ho Chi Minh City trade union expert Nguyen Van Tan agrees, saying,
"Many enterprises use outdated machinery and most of their workers do
not go through any labor safety classes. It is easy to understand why
many accidents happen. Many shops also try to cut costs by not
providing workers with necessary equipment and labor safety
knowledge," he notes.
Trade unionists in fact say that in many workplaces employees do not
have adequate or suitable protective equipment despite having to work in
amid dust and toxic gases. They also have to endure high temperatures,
noise and radiation levels that are often from 10 to hundreds of times
higher than they should be. National Institute for Labor Protection
inquiries have also revealed that around 80 percent of workers work in
environments with at least two potentially harmful ingredients.
The surveys at 8,000 private establishments found, for instance, that
owners failed to hold regular inspection tours and neglected to provide
staff with protective equipment. But most production facilities and
machines there were also outdated and some equipment were not in
compliance with quality control regulations. As a result, a large number of
staff at some private enterprises suffered from ailments like deafness, lung
problems and skin diseases.
Company owners, however, have tried to dodge the blame for the
accidents by citing recent statistics from Molisa that show those caused
by poor working conditions and unsafe equipment accounted for only
10.2 percent. In contrast, they note, accidents caused by workers
violating regulations on technological safety accounted for 51.1 percent.
But Tan notes that one factor worsening the situation has been precisely
the growing tendency among some employers to hire low-skilled
workers for short-term employment. According to Tan, employers resort
to this tactic to save on labor costs.
A worried Molisa has been sending inspection teams to "accident-prone"
enterprises in the past few years. The effort has led to many violators
being penalized, with some having their business licenses revoked. But it
has nevertheless had negligible impact because, some observers say, the
inspections were few and far between.
Molisa insiders also say as much. One ministry personnel says, "We do
not have enough staff to inspect all the businesses and most inspections
occur only after accidents happen." At present, there are only 312
inspection officials, with each having up to 801 enterprises to monitor.
Recent reports also indicate that a large number of detected violations
have gone unpunished. Of the 175 cases that caused several deaths here
in Ho Chi Minh City, for instance, only two wound up in court.
Molisa, though, has now required companies to set up labor protection
councils to help monitor safety practice. "The probability of labor
accidents would be very low if businesses set up their own labor
protection councils," says Huynh Tan Dung, head of Ho Chi Minh City
Labor Safety Inspection Board (LSIB).
The LSIB also reports that about 75 percent of the state-run units have
undergone labor safety courses and been instructed on the need to use
protective equipment. These businesses have also spent more than 3,700
billion dong on installing new production facilities to improve working
conditions and minimize the risk of work-related accidents.
Meanwhile, observers say that the government should also rethink the
country's compensation system for labor accident victims. They say the
system has proved to be exceedingly slow, inefficient and unreasonably
expensive. Two funds are available for compensation purposes - the
labor users and social insurance funds - but delays in ironing out which is
to be applied has meant a waste of time and money.
Complains Nguyen Viet Thang, who lost an arm while operating an
automatic hammer: "I must wait nearly three years to received a monthly
compensation of 100,000 dong."
Under the country's labor laws, employers must pay 5 percent of total
salaries to a social insurance scheme in order to provide assistance to
workers in case of illness, childbirth, occupational diseases and accidents
at work. The labor legislation also states that workers who lose 61-70
percent of their work capacity receive $10.28 per month, and $16.42 a
month if 91 percent of work capacity is lost.
But experts say that in reality, incapacitated workers receive a maximum
amount that is equivalent to 30 months' salary. This is equivalent to
between $857 and $1,071 - that is, if more than 81 percent of work
capacity is lost. Experts say this figure is not enough to cover basic living
costs for the rest of the worker's life.
By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam - Inter Press Service - June 1st, 2001.
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