Construction safety fears building up

Despite Keangnam Vina chairman Ha Jong Suk apologising for the accidents and promising to tighten safety controls, three labour accidents in rapid succession have led to speculation labour regulations are being ignored by contractors. Le Bach Hong, deputy minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said fines for work safety violations were too small and some contractors flouted the rules. Under current regulations, each violation is subject to a fine between VND200,000-VND20 million.

Hong said to fix the problem, a heavier fine system must be applied to investors, contractors and labourers. Last week, the Hanoi Construction Department demanded all investors and contractors work out more effective solutions to ensure construction site safety. Workers must be trained with advanced working methods at all sites.

According to a Ministry of Health survey on labour accidents, around 80 per cent of the surveyed enterprises conceded “very bad working conditions”. Only 20 per cent of them met labour safety standards.

Accidents most often occurred in mining, material manufacturing and construction. According to the Hanoi Department for Labour Invalids and Social Affairs, accidents at construction sites made up 60 per cent of the total labour accidents last year. Investigations into accidents that led to deaths were also slow.

According to the Hanoi Bureau for Labour Safety, many construction sites did not have safety fences and workers did not wear safety harnesses when working on high-rise buildings. Many contractors had cut off safety equipment to reduce expenses. A representative from a supervising company said that another outstanding problem was the quality of workers. There was a serious shortage of professional workers, and the majority were not qualified to work on such projects.