Resolution 19/NQ-CP 2022 promulgating the National Program on Occupational Safety and Health for the 2021-2025 period

RESOLUTION

Promulgating the National Program on Occupational Safety and Health for the 2021-2025 period

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THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the November 20, 2019 Labor Code;

Pursuant to the June 25, 2015 Law on Occupational Safety and Health;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 138/2016/ND-CP of October 1, 2016, promulgating the working regulation of the Government;

At the proposal of the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and agreeing opinions of the cabinet members.

RESOLVES:

Article 1. To promulgate together with this Resolution the National Program on Occupational Safety and Health for the 2021-2025 period.

Article 2. This Resolution takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and related agencies, organizations and individuals shall implement this Resolution.

THE NATIONAL PROGRAM ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH FOR THE 2021-2025 PERIOD

 (Promulgated together with the Government’s Resolution No. 19/NQ-CP of February 16, 2022)

In furtherance of the National Program on Occupational Safety and Health for the 2016-2020 period and its implementation results and in further abidance by the Party’s and the State’s directions on objectives of assurance of occupational safety and prevention and control of occupational diseases, thus contributing to achieving the 2030 agenda’s sustainable development goals, the Government promulgates the Resolution on the National Program on Occupational Safety and Health for the 2021-2025 period (below referred to as the Program) with the following principal contents:

I. OBJECTIVES

1. General objectives

To pay attention to improving working conditions, preventing occupational accidents and diseases, providing health care for laborers and ensuring their life safety, ensuring safety for assets of the State, enterprises and organizations, thus contributing to sustainable national development.

2. Targets by 2025

a/ Target 1: To annually reduce by 4% the number of fatal occupational accidents.

b/ Target 2: To annually increase by 5% the number of laborers receiving occupational health checks, and increase by 5% the number of establishments having their working environment monitored.

c/ Target 3: Over 90% of people engaged in the management and organization of occupational safety and health at the district level and in management boards of economic zones, export processing zones and hi-tech parks will receive training for improvement of their capacity for occupational safety and health work.

d/ Target 4: Over 80% of laborers performing occupations or jobs subject to strict occupational safety and health requirements will receive occupational safety and health training; and 80% of people engaged in occupational safety and health work will receive occupational safety and health training.

dd/ Target 5: Over 80% of people engaged in grassroots health care activities will receive occupational safety and health training.

e/ Target 6: Over 80% of craft villages and cooperatives with high risk of occupational accidents and diseases will get access to appropriate information on occupational safety and health.

g/ Target 7: Over 80% of people suffering occupational accidents or diseases will receive compensations and allowances as provided by law.

h/ Target 8: All fatal occupational accidents will be reported, investigated and handled in accordance with law.

II. SCOPE AND SUBJECTS

The Program shall be implemented nationwide in all sectors and trades and to cover people engaged in state management of occupational safety and health, employers and employees, with priority given to sectors, trades and jobs with high risk of occupational accidents and diseases, small- and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives and craft villages.

III. KEY TASKS AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM

1. Improving the system of policies and laws and raising the capacity to inspect, examine and supervise, and provide public services of, occupational safety and health

a/ To review and propose amendments and supplementations to the Law on Occupational Safety and Health; national technical regulations on occupational safety and health; standards on diagnosis and assessment of occupational diseases and provision of guidance on treatment of occupational diseases.

b/ To study and propose policies to develop subjects participating in social insurance for occupational accidents and diseases; to additionally draw up the list of occupational diseases in the new situation (diagnosis and assessment standards); to manage occupational safety in the use of elevators.

c/ To formulate and improve methods of determining heavy, noxious and dangerous occupations in association with criteria for evaluation of working conditions in the context of international integration.

d/ To invest in upgrading equipment, physical facilities and manpower for occupational safety and health inspection, examination and supervision systems; to manage quality of special products and goods for occupational safety; to monitor the working environment; to carry out diagnosis, assessment, treatment and functional rehabilitation for people suffering occupational accidents or diseases. 

dd/ To continue consolidating the database on occupational safety and health (application of information technology to management, survey and collection of statistical data), giving priority to data on working conditions of people performing heavy, noxious and dangerous jobs, and on occupational accidents and diseases and working environment.

e/ To computerize management activities, ensuring synchronization and connection of information systems in the declaration of occupational accidents, implementation of policies on support for social insurance for occupational accidents and diseases, and provision of public services in the field of occupational safety and health.

2. Intensifying provision of information, public communication and training to improve awareness about occupational safety and health

a/ To further renovate and diversify forms of provision of information and public communication, and raise efficiency of the Occupational Safety and Health Action Month.

b/ To further step up information provision and public communication and activities to improve efficiency of mass movements to involve people in occupational safety and health in the period of industrialization and modernization.

c/ To continue improving training programs and documents; to intensify the application of information technology in occupational safety and health training courses.

d/ To provide occupational safety and health training support to employers and employees, giving priority to people working not under labor contracts and performing jobs subject to strict occupational safety requirements.

dd/ To provide occupational safety and health training support to farmers by the action education method; to mobilize farmers to register their commitments to ensuring occupational safety and health.

e/ To intensify communication and training in assurance of safe use of gases in consumer households, particularly family households; to ensure safety for electricity use in rural areas, residential areas and schools. 

3. Intensifying research, and provision of consultations and support for improvement of working conditions and prevention and control of occupational accidents and diseases

a/ To intensify scientific and technological research and application for occupational safety and health; to provide support for realizing models of technical safety solutions to prevent and control dangerous and harmful elements in sectors and trades with high occupational accident and disease risks (mining and processing of minerals, metallurgy, chemicals, construction and other sectors and occupations).  

b/ To step by step study and propose the building of laboratories equipped with personal protection devices, machines, equipment, tools and instruments for ensuring occupational safety up to national standards.

c/ To intensify provision of consultations on measures and models for improving working conditions to small- and medium-sized enterprises, craft villages, cooperatives and farmers’ households engaged in occupations and jobs with high occupational accident and disease risks.

d/ To provide assistance for assessment and implementation of measures to prevent and control occupational accidents in the use of elevators and equipment subject to strict occupational safety requirements in small-sized enterprises and business households.

dd/ To provide assistance for application of occupational safety and health management systems in enterprises, production establishments and craft villages with high occupational accident and disease risks, thereby step by step building the culture of occupational safety meeting the international standards on occupational safety and health management systems (ISO 45001 - 2018).

4. Intensifying international cooperation activities

a/ To intensify international cooperation in order to mobilize resources in support of occupational safety and health work.

b/ To expand the sharing of information and experience in occupational safety and health with foreign countries, particularly members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

c/ To continue applying standards of the International Labor Organization on occupational safety and health that have been ratified by Vietnam.

5. Managing, supervising and evaluating the implementation of the Program

a/ To enhance the leadership and direction of, and coordination among, authorities and sectors from the central to local levels and among related agencies, political and social organizations, business associations, and non-governmental organizations in organizing the achievement of objectives of the Program.

b/ To encourage and create conditions for enterprises, organizations and individuals at home and abroad and foreign countries to participate in and contribute resources and experiences for the implementation of the Program; to take the initiative in implementing measures to improve working conditions and manage and assess occupational safety and health risks. 

c/ To formulate and implement action programs to implement the Program; to integrate activities of the Program with other projects and programs in the field of labor.

d/ To efficiently use resources for the implementation of the Program; to coordinate and integrate resources of the Program with existing resources (of the Health Insurance Fund, the Occupational Accident and Disease Insurance Fund, etc.) and other social resources.

IV. FUNDS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM

1. Funds for implementation of the Program include:

a/ State budget allocations included in annual state budget estimates of ministries, sectors, central agencies and localities; and funds of related programs and schemes in accordance with the law on the state budget;

b/ International aid and donations and funds raised from the community and other lawful sources.

2. Ministries, sectors and localities shall make their annual budget estimates for implementation of the Program and manage and use funds in accordance with the law on the state budget.

V. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall:

a/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in organizing the implementation of the Program;

b/ Review and revise according to its competence policies and laws relevant to occupational safety and health; apply information technology in the development and management of the national database on occupational safety and health;

c/ Organize on a pilot basis the building of appropriate occupational safety and health management systems for 150 enterprises with high occupational accident and disease risks, of which at least 50 enterprises are eligible for certification of conformity with the international standard on occupational safety and health management system (ISO 45001 - 2018);

d/ Organize model occupational safety and health training courses; provide model consultations on measures and models for improvement of working conditions;

dd/ Apply on a pilot basis models of application of technical safety solutions to prevent and control dangerous and harmful elements in at least 10 small- or medium-sized enterprises; provide assistance for pilot application of measures to assess, prevent and control occupational accidents in the use of machines and equipment subject to strict occupational safety requirements to at least 200 small-sized enterprises and business households;

e/ Guide, examine and sum up the practical implementation of the Program and report it to the Government and Prime Minister;

g/ Organize the implementation, and monitor and report on results of the achievement of objectives number 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8.

2. The Ministry of Health shall:

a/ Review and revise according to its competence policies and laws relevant to occupational safety and health;

b/ Provide assistance for model application of measures to carry out diagnosis, assessment, treatment and functional rehabilitation for laborers suffering occupational diseases in groups of occupational interstitial lung diseases (Pneumoconiosis), occupational intoxication diseases, diseases caused by occupational physical elements, occupational skin diseases and occupational diseases caused by bacterial contamination;

c/ Provide assistance for model application of measures to raise the capacity for monitoring the working environment regarding dust and chemical elements for at least 1,000 occupational health workers;

d/ Organize the implementation, and monitor and report on results of the achievement of objectives number 2 and 5.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall:

a/ Include funds for implementation of the Program in annual budget estimates of central agencies and localities in accordance with the law on the state budget;

b/ Additionally guide the management and use of funds for special activities of the Program; coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in inspecting and supervising the implementation of the Program.

4. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall mobilize and call for foreign financial aid for implementation of the Program.

5. The Ministry of National Defense shall organize activities to improve working conditions, prevent and control occupational diseases, particularly those caused by exposure to TNT and orange agent in national defense activities.

6. Within the ambit of their tasks and powers, other ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall: 

a/ Base themselves on the Program to work out plans on, estimate funds for, and organize the implementation of, activities of the Program together with their professional operations.

b/ Coordinate with related ministries and agencies and localities in organizing the implementation of activities of the Program.

c/ Examine, evaluate and report on an annual or extraordinary basis to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on the practical implementation of the Program.

7. The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor shall, within the ambit of its functions and tasks, participate in and coordinate with related ministries and sectors in organizing public communication, training and provision of consultations to raise awareness of enterprises, trade union members, laborers and occupational safety and health workers; organize activities to improve efficiency of mass movements to mobilize people to participate in occupational safety and health; apply scientific and technological advances in occupational safety and health in order to improve working conditions and reduce occupational accidents and diseases for employees of enterprises.

8. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health and related ministries and sectors in carrying out public communication, training and provision of consultations to improve quality of occupational safety and health work in enterprises, cooperatives and other member units.

9. The Vietnam Farmers’ Union shall, within the ambit of its functions and tasks, coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and related ministries and sectors in organizing public communication and training in occupational safety and health for farmers by the action education method; apply models of improvement of working conditions in agriculture and rural development; launch the movement of farmers engaged in production and business activities ensuring occupational safety and health; provide training and further training in skills in and knowledge about occupational safety and health to its grassroots cadres.

10. The Vietnam Occupational Safety and Health Science and Technique Association and the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises shall participate in and coordinate with each other in organizing the implementation of the Program.

11. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

a/ Formulate and implement occupational safety and health programs of their localities for the 2021 – 2025 period, ensuring adherence to the following principles: being in line and associated with socio-economic development objectives; having specific objectives, tasks and solutions associated with the implementation of tasks and solutions of the Program in order to achieve its objectives; and allocating local budgets for implementation.

b/ Take the initiative in coordinate with related ministries and agencies in organizing activities under the Program.

c/ Manage the implementation of the Program in their localities; and report on an annual or extraordinary basis on the practical implementation of the Program.