In Vietnam, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) is responsible for matters related to labor in general. In addition to occupational safety and health (OSH), MOLISA is responsible for issues of wages, employment, job training, social security, child labor, and gender in workplaces. The ministry’s tasks include: enforcement of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health, and development and formulation of OSH-related regulations.

In MOLISA, the Bureau for Safe Work is responsible for OSH. The Bureau is mainly in charge of the following tasks: implementation and monitoring of laws and regulations related to OSH, provision of information on OSH, collection of data on occupational accidents and illness, provision of education and training to spread OSH-related schemes, planning and implementation of the annual Occupational Safety and Health Month, and inspections on OSH-related matters.

According to MOLISA, in 2017, 8965 occupational accidents occurred across the country leaving 9173 victims. Among them, 898 accidents were fatal, 101 accidents had two or more victims, resulting in 928 dead and 1915 injured. The total number of female victims was 2727. The below Figures show the numbers of past occupational accidents, fatalities, and serious accidents from 2006 to2015[1]. It should be noted that the Bureau for Safe Worker said that such statistical data does not represent the reality because 1) many local authorities do not submit the occupational accident status report pursuant to the designated format and deadline; 2) many local authorities fail to report occupational accidents by relevant business field; and 3) submitted data is often incomplete. Furthermore, only 5.4% of companies have submitted the occupational accident status report. Given such facts, it is almost impossible to collect accurate information on and to summarize the status of occupational accidents. One of the reasons for the low submission rate is that the occupational accidents and illness data reporting system is difficult to use and are thus rarely used.

Trends in the number of occupational accidents in Vietnam (2006-2015)

Trends in the number of fatalities due to occupational accidents in Vietnam (2006-2015)

 


Trends in the number of serious occupational accidents in Vietnam (2006-2015)

 

Overview of laws and regulations on OSH

In Vietnam, the Law on Occupational Safety and Health, a law specializing in OSH, was enacted in 2015. A legal system for OSH is currently being built centering on this Law. This Law aims to ensure the safety and health of workers by stipulating various requirements for OSH (e.g. controlling hazards in workplace, formulating an emergency response plan, providing health examinations, reporting occupational accidents, establishing a department in charge of OSH, and appointing OSH officers). For detailed rules for implementing the Law, the subordinate rules, such as the Decree specifying and providing guidelines for implementation of certain articles of the law on occupational safety and health and circulars that provide implementing rules for the Decree should be referred to.

Law on Occupational Safety and Health (No. 84/2015/QH13)

  • Decree specifying and providing guidelines for implementation of certain articles of the law on occupational safety and health (No. 39/2016/ND-CP)
    • Circular on elaborating training in occupational safety and health (No. 31/2018/TT-BLDTBXH)
    • Circular on introduction of the List of machinery, equipment and materials subject to occupational safety and health requirements (No. 53/2016/TT-BLDTBXH)

[1] https://www.jisha.or.jp/international/sougou/pdf/vietnam201811.pdf