Joint Circular No. 40/2011/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BYT dated December 28, 2011 of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance defining the adverse working conditions and job categories that are not used female employees, female employees who are pregnant or nursing children under 12 months old

THE MINISTRY OF LABOR, WAR INVALIDS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS - THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Joint Circular No. 40/2011/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BYT of December 28, 2011, providing hazardous working conditions and jobs in which employment of female laborers and female laborers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants is prohibited

Pursuant to the June 23, 1994 Labor Code; the April 2, 2002 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Labor Code; and the November 29, 2006 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Labor Code;

Pursuant to Decree No. 186/2007/ND-CP of December 25, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 188/2007/ND-CP of December 12, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health, and Decree No. 22/2010/ND-CP of March 9, 2010, amending and supplementing Article 3 of Decree No. 188/2007/ND-CP of December 12, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health jointly provide hazardous working conditions and jobs in which employment of female laborers and female laborers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants is prohibited, as follows:

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Circular provides hazardous working conditions and jobs in which employment of female laborers and female laborers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants is prohibited.

2. This Circular applies to agencies, enterprises and organizations (below referred to as employing units) and individuals employing female laborers and female laborers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants, including:

a/ Administrative agencies, non-business units, people’s armed forces (people’s army and people’s public security), political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations and other social organizations;

b/ Enterprises of all economic sectors;

c/ Cooperatives and cooperative unions;

d/ Foreign agencies and organizations and international organizations based in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

e/ Other individuals and organizations employing female laborers.

Article 2. Hazardous working conditions in which employment of female laborers is prohibited

1. Workplaces with a pressure higher than the atmosphere pressure.

2. Dangerous and steer workplaces.

3. Working with the body constantly in the water (for 4 hours or longer a day and more than 3 days a week).

4. Too heavy work (consuming average energy of more than 5 Kcal per minute and with average heartbeat of over 120 per minute).

5. Working in contact with open radioactive sources.

Article 3. Hazardous working conditions in which employment of female laborers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants is prohibited

Apart from the hazardous working conditions specified in Article 2 of this Circular, employment of female workers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants is prohibited in the following conditions:

1. Working in contact with electromagnetic field exceeding the permitted limit;

2. Working in direct contact with a number of chemicals the accumulation of which in the body can easily cause gene damage, adverse effects on cell metabolism, miscarriage, early birth, placenta infection, innate defect, or adverse effects on breast milk or respiratory system infection;

3. Working with the body in dirty water easily causing infection;

4. Working in a workplace with an air temperature of 40oC or higher in summer and 32oC or higher in winter or affected by high thermal radiation;

5. Working in a workplace with a vibration level exceeding the permitted standards; operating machines and equipment with whole or partial vibration exceeding the permitted standard;

6. Working in uncomfortable position or a place lacking oxygen.

Article 4. List of jobs in which employment of female laborers and female laborers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants is prohibited

The list of jobs in which employment of female laborers and female laborers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants is prohibited is provided in the Appendix to this Circular.

Article 5. Organization of implementation

1. Establishments and individuals employing laborers have the following responsibilities:

a/ To review jobs which are currently performed by female laborers based on hazardous working conditions and jobs in which employment of female laborers is prohibited under this Circular. On this basis, to work out plans for rearranging and retraining female laborers or transferring them to other occupations or jobs suitable to them.

b/ To discontinue letting female laborers work in hazardous working conditions and perform jobs in which employment of female laborers is prohibited within 12 months from the effective date of this Circular but not to abuse this provision to sack or dismiss them. Particularly for women who are pregnant or nursing  under-12-month infants, to implement the provision immediately from the effective date of this Circular; to report implementation results to provincial-level Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Departments and Health Departments.

c/ To hold biannual and annual reviews of the implementation of this Circular together with labor safety and hygiene reviews at the establishments.

2. Provincial-level Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Departments have the following responsibilities:

a/ To coordinate with provincial-level health Departments and Labor Federations in regularly urging, examining and supervising the implementation of this Circular at female laborer-employing establishments.

b/ To increase inspection to detect and promptly handle violations of the law on employment of female workers and female workers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants.

c/ To annually summarize and report on the implementation of this Circular to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs at the same time with reporting on labor safety and hygiene work of units based in the localities.

Article 6. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on February 20, 2010.

2. From the effective date of this Circular, to annul Inter-Ministerial Circular No. 03/TT-LB of January 28, 1994, of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health, providing hazardous working conditions and jobs in which employment of female laborers is prohibited.

Any difficulties and problems arising in the course of implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health for consideration and settlement.-

For the Minister of Health
Deputy Minister
NGUYEN VIET TIEN

For the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs
Deputy Minister
BUI HONG LINH

Appendix

LIST OF JOBS IN WHICH
EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALE LABORERS IS PROHIBITED

(To Joint Circular No. 40/2011/TTLT-BLDTBXH-BYT of December 28, 2011, of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health)

I. APPLICABLE TO ALL FEMALE LABORERS

1. Directly melting metal and pouring molten metal at:

1.1. Electric arc kilns of 0.5 ton or more.

1.2. Rotary kilns (for refining pig-iron).

1.3. Horizontal kilns (for refining steel).

1.4. Blast furnace.

2. Rolling hot metal (excluding non-ferrous metal).

3. Directly refining non-ferrous metal ore (bronze, lead, tin, mercury, zinc and silver).

4. Firing kilns for refining coke.

5. Welding in air-tight tanks, welding at a height of more than 10 m above working floor.

6. Digging pits.

7. Digging mines and working in pit mines.

8. Conducting exploratory drills and drilling holes for laying and blasting mines.

9. Breaking and removing rock on mountains.

10. Installing offshore oil rigs.

11. Drilling for oil and gas wells.

12. Working on offshore oil rigs (except for health and social services).

13. Repairing electric lines in underground tunnels or on open-air power line poles, high-voltage power lines, installing high-voltage power pylons.

14. Maintaining and repairing electric lines in underground tunnels or on open-door poles, high-voltage power lines, installing high-voltage power pylons.

15. Maintaining, installing and repairing high suspension posts at rivers and antenna masts.

16. Working in submerged tanks.

17. Directly adjusting by hand large construction slabs or structures.

18. Directly digging wells and constructing and finishing wells by hand.

19. Directly uprooting by hand stumps of trees with a diameter of over 40 cm.

20. Using hand-held steam machines having a pressure of 4 atmospheres or more (drilling and hammering machines).

21. Driving heavy-duty machines with a capacity of over 36 horse power, like excavators, bulldozers and caterpillars (except hydraulic machines).

22. Painting, repairing, building, mortaring, cleaning and decorating the outer surfaces of high buildings (from 3rd floor or higher or at a height over 12 m above the working floor) without the aid of machines, lifting cranes or solid scaffolds.

23. Felling big trees having a diameter of over 40 cm; cutting and trimming by hand branches at a height of over 5 m.

24. Transporting, moving and handling logs having a diameter of over 40 cm by hand.

25. Salvaging sunken logs, pulling logs in the dockyard, pulling logs ashore.

26. Navigating rafts downstream a river with many cascades.

27. Sawing large timber by hand.

28. Collecting salangane nests (excluding collecting in farming houses); collecting bat manure.

29. Working on board seagoing ships (excluding restaurant, room, bar and reception services on tourist liners).

30. Keeping guard on a vessel, keeping watch of a ship in the dockyard or on a riverbank.

31. Operating steam boilers (except automatic, oil-fired and electric boilers).

32. Driving trains (except highly automated trains and urban and tourist trains).

33. Operating floating cranes.

34. Building ship shells (for wood and iron vessels) involving carrying, fitting and handling loads of 30 kg or over.

35. Conducting river navigation channel surveys in areas with high cascades and dangerously deep areas.

36. Underwater concreting.

37. Professional diving.

38. Operating dredgers.

39. Driving cars of over 2.5 tons (excluding cars of under 10 tons with a driving support system).

40. Carrying loads of 30 kg or more.

41. Operating slashers, dyers, stretchers, polishing testers and sanforizers (excluding automatic machines).

42. Rolling large and hard leather pieces (excluding working with automatic machines).

43. Driving farm tractors of 50 horse power or more.

44. Dredging underground sluices, working with the body constantly in dirty water.

45. Performing autopsy, shrouding and burying dead persons (excluding electric incineration), exhuming and moving human remains to another place.

II. APPLICABLE TO FEMALE WORKERS WHO ARE PREGNANT OR NURSING UNDER-12-MONTH INFANTS

Apart from 45 jobs in which employment of female workers is prohibited in Part I of this list, employment of female workers who are pregnant or nursing under-12-month infants is prohibited in the following jobs:

46. Working in radio, television, radar and telecommunications satellite stations with electromagnetic pollution exceeding the permitted standard.

47. Working in direct contact with radioactive sources.

48. Working in direct contact (including producing, packaging, preparing, spraying and disinfecting) with chemical pesticide, herbicide, rodenticide, termiticide and mosquito repellents containing organic chloride and some chemicals likely to cause gene damage and cancer as follows:

+ 1,4-Butanediol, dimethyl sulfate.

+ 2. Naphthylamine.

+ 2, 3, 7, 8 tetrachloro dibenzene furan.

+ 3-alphaphenyl- beta axetyletyl.

+ 4-amino, 10-methyl folic acid.

+ 4 aminobiphenyl.

+ 5 fluoro-uracil

+ Asbestos (amosite, chrysotile, crocidolite).

+ Arsenic, calcium arsenate.

+ Acetylsalicylic acid.

+ Asparagine.

+ Benomyl.

+ Benzene.

+ Boric acid.

+ Insoluble chromate salts.

+ Caffeine.

+ Lead, acetate lead, lead nitrate (in contact with chemical products mixed with lead like petrol, paint, printing ink; manufacture of accumulators, lead welding rods).

+ Dimethyl sulfoxide.

+ Direct blue-1.

+ Dioxin.

+ Diethylstilbestrol.

+ Dichlorometyl-ether.

+ Focmamide.

+ Hydrocortisone, hydrocortisone acetate.

+ Iodine (metal).

+ Potassium bromide, potassium iodide.

+ Vinazol gas.

+ Mercapto-purine.

+ N, N-di (chloroethyl) 2, naphthylamine.

+ Sodium arsenate, sodium arsenite, sodium iodide, sodium salicylate.

+ Coal tar, coal tar vapor.

+ Nitrogen pentoxide.

+ Mercury, methyl mercury compounds, methyl mercury chloride.

+ Propyl-thio-uracil.

+ Tetramethyl thiuram disulfide.

+ Triamcincolone acetonide.

+ Thorium dioxide.

+ Thiosulfate.

+ Triton WR-1339.

+ Trypan blue.

+ Ribavirine.

+ Valproic acid.

+ Vincrystine sulfate.

+ Vinyl chloral, vinyl chloride.

49. Working in direct contact with chemicals which have adverse effects on unborn babies and breast milk:

+ 1,1- dichloro - 2,2-di (4-chlorophenyl) ethane.

+ 1,3 dimethyl - 2,6 dihydroxypurine.

+ 2 sulfamilamidotazol.

+ 4,4-DDE.

+ Andrine.

+ Antimony.

+ Betaquinine.

+ Compounds containing lithium.

+ Calciferol.

+ Chloralhydrate.

+ Decahlorobiphenyl.

+ Penicilin G potassium.

+ Quinidine gluconate.

+ Strontium (Sr) peroxide.

+ Sulfadiazine, sulfapyridine, sodium sulfamethazine, sulfanilamid, sunfamerazine, sulfisoxazole acetyl.

+ Cerium and salt containing cerium (Ce).

+ Cyclosporine.

50. Working in contact with organic solvents like embalming sleepers, laying emulsion on photo paper, printing patterns on thin materials, printing labels on thin and smooth paper, laminating phenol plastic, operating phenol glue multi-condenser pots).

51. Working in rubber production factories: mixing materials, weighing and sieving chemicals for rubber latex steamers.

52. Repairing kilns, air-tight tanks and pipes used in chemical production.

53. Working in tobacco fermenting and cigarette drying silos.

54. Burning glass melting kilns and blowing glass by mouth.

55. Embalming, salting and handling raw hides.

56. Rinsing paraffin in alcohol tanks.

57. Painting, welding and scraping rust of beer fermenting chambers and air-tight tanks.

58. Canning milk in air-tight chambers.

59. Working in contact with petrol and oil at retail and testing stations, in cellars, delivering and receiving, preserving and operating oil and petrol pumps and gauges.

60. Breaking molds.

61. Processing feathers in open conditions.

62. Cleaning steam boilers and gas pipelines.

63. Pulverizing and mixing ores or working in places where there is dust containing 10% silicon dioxide or more.

64. Sorting out lead ore.

65. Laminating, pulling and striking lead products and lead-plated products.

66. Revolving filter presses in factories.

67. Operating generators of 10 kVA or more.

68. Operating cable spinning and gut spouting machines

69. Driving farm tractors (of any capacity).

70. Driving construction machines (of any capacity).

71. Driving cars of under 2.5 tons (except those with a driving support system); driving electric cars and means of transport, driving crane trucks within working premises.

72. Vulcanizing, forming and handling big-sized rubber products such as big fuel tanks and containers, car tires, etc.

73. Carrying loads of over 20 kg.

74. Working in daily contact with gaseous anesthetics; vaccine production facilities (excluding working in indirect sections); taking part in stamping epidemic hotbeds, working in X-ray or cobalt radiation therapy departments.

75. Scooping, drying and transporting stale fish, or producing fish powder as animal feed.

76. Stirring mud in fish ponds.

77. Working in direct contact with chemical dyes at dyeing factories as keepers and assistant keepers of chemical storehouses, preparing dyes.

78. Packing cement with semi-automatic 4-spout machines.

79. Installing and repairing VSATs (very-small-aperture terminal) in deep-lying, remote, mountainous and border areas and islands.

Apart from 79 jobs above, employers that have jobs to be performed in conditions hazardous to female laborers specified in this Circular are also prohibited from employing female laborers in these jobs.-