A conference on safety and sanitation at work and labour inspection washeld by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Welfare (MOLISA) onMar. 15 in the southern province of Dong Nai , to discuss measuresto strengthen international cooperation and design strategies andpolicies on these issues.

The conference broughttogether officials from various international organisations, includingthe International Social Security Association (ISSA Mining),International Labour Organisation and labour inspection bodies from sixASEAN member countries.

Participants sharedexperience on successful models applied in many countries in the worldand suggested various methods of ensuring safety and sanitation inVietnam .

Speaking at the conference, MOLISADeputy Minister Bui Hong Linh described safety and sanitation at work asincreasingly critical issues, saying during past years the VietnameseGovernment has given preference to the issue in its human resourcespreservation and development strategy.

Recently,there was an average of 6,000 cases of workplace accidents, with 500deaths and 5,000 people injured a year. Around 1500-2000 become newvictims of occupational diseases every year.

TheGovernment has also coordinated with both employers and employees toprotect labourers’ health, highlighted by a national programme of safetyand sanitation at work till 2015 with the funding of 700 billion VND,which offers healthcare service to workers.

At thisevent, MOLISA signed a three-year term cooperative agreement with ISSA,which allows the two sides to exchange delegations, experience andinformation on work safety and labour inspection issues, aiming topromote safe work activities and prevent and manage workplace risks inVietnam.-VNA