Warning about unsafe labor practices in civil construction works in Nghe An
Recently, Nghe An has had a number of labor accidents at civil works, causing loss of life and property.
At around 8:00 a.m. on November 15, a serious accident occurred at a high-rise construction site in Cong Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District. During the construction process, Mr. NVM (construction worker) and the material winch system when reaching the 3rd floor, the winch wire broke, causing Mr. NVM to fall from the 3rd floor and was seriously injured, and had to be taken to the emergency room.
Observations at this construction site show that the 3-storey house mostly uses bamboo scaffolding. Some construction workers here said: The cause of the accident was because the winch was too old, so when pulling materials and workers to the upper floor to construct, the winch suddenly broke.
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Present at a 3-storey civil construction site in Dien Ky commune, Dien Chau district under construction, I witnessed workers not using any protective equipment during the construction process. Workers worked at a height of 10-15 m but did not have safety belts or helmets. Notably, most of the towering scaffolding system was temporarily tied with bamboo and wooden poles, with a few planks laid on top for construction workers to work.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tinh - a construction worker in Dien Nguyen commune, Dien Chau district said: "I have been in this profession for 15 years, most of the construction projects of residential houses use bamboo scaffolding and poles, when I first started this profession I was a bit scared but later I found it normal. In this construction profession, we mainly learn from each other and few people are trained in school, so it is difficult to avoid work accidents, it is just a matter of whether the accident is serious or minor. We just remind ourselves to be careful at work".
Surveys show that work accidents come from subjective causes. There is almost no labor protection system, construction workers lack observation...
Construction is a field that requires a lot of expertise and techniques. Especially when working at a construction site, there are many very complicated factors. Therefore, workers have to face many unpredictable dangers.
A representative of Nghe An Department of Construction said: For civil works, according to regulations, they must be 7 floors or higher for the competent authorities to inspect the quality, design documents, and labor safety.
Therefore, it is very difficult to handle cases of occupational safety violations that occur in civil works. There is no one to manage the workers, no one to take responsibility. Freelance workers and idle farm workers working for construction units do not have labor contracts and are not trained.
A representative of the provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said: From the beginning of 2024 to now, there have been 7 fatal work accidents in the province, mainly in the fields of construction works and factory production. However, the Department of Construction does not have data on work accidents at civil construction sites because they do not report to the relevant agencies or authorities. Construction workers hired by construction contractors are not trained, usually when an accident occurs, the employer and the worker negotiate and compensate.
In most civil construction projects, contractors rarely use iron scaffolding, mainly bamboo scaffolding, to minimize costs, so unfortunate work accidents are likely to occur.
To limit the risks of occupational accidents in the construction industry, investors and construction contractors need to have a sense of responsibility and comply with the law and regulations of the State.
In addition, functional agencies and local authorities also need to promote their roles and responsibilities in raising awareness among workers; inspecting and supervising labor safety in housing construction projects to ensure safety for workers.
