LAW

ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HYGIENE

Pursuant to Constitution of Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law on occupational safety and hygiene.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Law deals with occupational hygiene and safety assurance; policies and benefits for victims of occupational accidents and occupational diseases (hereinafter referred to as victims); rights and obligations of organizations or individuals relating to occupational hygiene and safety and the roles of regulatory agencies in occupational hygiene and safety.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Employees with labor contracts; interns; apprentices.

2. Officials and civil servants, people’s armed forces.

3. Employees without labor contracts.

4. Vietnamese employees working abroad under contracts; foreign employees working in Vietnam.

5. Employers.

6. Other agencies, organizations or individuals relating to occupational hygiene and safety.

Every person prescribed in Point 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall be hereinafter referred to as employee.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

For the purposes of this Law, these terms below shall be construed as follows:

1. Business entity means an enterprise, a cooperative, a household or another business entity.

2. Occupational safety means preventive measures for dangerous factors to avoid injuries or deaths to employees during the course of work.

3. Occupational hygiene means preventive measures for harmful factors that cause diseases or health declining of employees during the course of work.

4. Dangerous factor means a factor that causes unsafe condition, injuries or deaths to employees during the course of work.

5. Harmful factor means a factor that cause diseases or health declining to employees during the course of work.

6. Safety threat means a technical breakdown of machinery, equipment, materials or substances that exceeds permitted technical safety threshold, occurs during the course of work and causes damage to or likely to cause damage to humans, assets and environment.

7. Serious safety threat means a major safety threat, which occurs on a large scale and beyond response capacity of business entities, agencies, organizations, or local governments or involves multiple business entities and local governments.

8. Occupational accident means an accident that causes injuries to any bodily part and function of an employee or causes death, and occurs during the course of work, in connection with their performance of a job or a task.

9. Occupational disease means a disease caused by the harmful working condition of an occupation on an employee.

10. Occupational environment monitoring means activities of collection, analysis, assessment of figures in terms of occupational environment factors at the workplace to introduce measures for minimizing harmful effects on health and prevention of occupational diseases.

Article 4. State policies on occupational safety and hygiene

1. Enable employers, employee, relevant agencies, organizations, or individuals to implement occupational safety and hygiene measures during the course of work; encourage employers and employees to apply advanced and modern technical standards and administration system and apply advanced, high and eco-friendly technology during the course of work.

2. Invest in scientific research, application of safety and hygiene technologies; support construction of national-standards laboratories to serve occupational safety and hygiene.

3. Support prevention of occupational accidents and occupational diseases in the fields posing high risks in occupational accidents and occupational diseases; encourage organizations to establish, announce or apply advanced and modern technical standards to improve occupational safety and hygiene during the course of work.

4. Provide training in occupational safety and hygiene for employees without labor contracts who work under strict safety and hygiene requirements.

5. Extend the scope of voluntary occupational accident insurance in terms of buyers; provide a flexible mechanism for buying insurance and claiming benefit to avoid, minimize or eliminate hazards to employees.

Article 5. Rules for occupational safety and hygiene assurance

1. Respect the right of employees to have safe and hygienic working conditions.

2. Implement all measures for occupational safety and hygiene during the course of work; give priority to measures for prevention, elimination and control dangerous or harmful factor during the performance of work.

3. Consult with trade unions, employer representative, Councils of occupational safety and hygiene about development and implementation of policies, law, programs and plans for occupational safety and hygiene.

Article 6. Rights and obligations of employees in terms of occupational safety and hygiene

1. Every employee with labor contracts has rights to:

a) Obtain assurance of equal, safe and hygienic working conditions; request his/her employer to ensure safe and hygienic working conditions during the course of work at the workplace;

b) Receive adequate information about dangerous or harmful factors at workplace and prevention measures; receive training in occupational safety and hygiene;

c) Receive ben