Big money lures rural workers to unsafe work sites

Hanoi (VNA) - Young, healthy males are rushing to big cities to get better-paid jobs
at construction sites - with scant regard for the dangers it can bring.

Most people working at construction sites are poorly educated. They leave their
native villages in the hope of improving their lives. But the reality is that many
don't get professional training and know little about labour safety.

Head of a construction site in Hanoi 's Cau Giay Street , Dao Van Chinh,
said: "Construction workers are mostly not being trained professionally. Although
vocational centres open classes for people who want to become builders, rural
workers can't afford it."

"They pick up their skill by observing qualified staff in their daily work. They
need jobs that bring them money, not jobs that cost them," said Chinh.

Nguyen Huu Thuan, a bricklayer from Phu Tho province, said that he had to move 300
buckets of mortar per day during his first lessons. Now he can build at least 12sq.m
of wall per day - the standard for a professional bricklayer.

Payment for these workers is low, and they do not get all the money they earn.

According to the head of a construction site in An Duong Street, an assistant gets
40,000 VND (2.4 USD) while a skilled worker, 70,000 VND (4.3 USD) per day. However,
they only receive 70 percent of the total until construction finishes.
On a low salary, construction workers find it hard to protect themselves
from industrial accidents.

There were 2,497 industrial accidents in the first six months of last year, causing
266 deaths and injuring 546, according to statistics by the Ministry of Labour, War
Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

The number of deaths increased by over 18 percent compared to the previous year. The
accidents mainly happened in big cities and provinces like Ho Chi Minh City ,
Binh Duong, Quang Ninh and Binh Dinh.

"The construction sector accounts for the highest percentage of all workplace
accidents - more than 46 percent. The main causes are scaffold collapses,
electric shocks or falls from heights," said Nguyen Trung, head of the ministry's
Labour Safety Policy Office.

"Among those cases, many labourers, mostly from rural areas, violate the labour
safety regulations as they lack awareness of safety procedures," said Trung.

"Besides, the Labour Law says that enterprises hiring three months have to buy
social insurance for these people, but it remains a challenge for authorities to
protect workers' interest.

"We can only assure workers' benefits, providing that they have working contract
with the enterprises," he said.

As many as 200,000 companies hiring labourers need to be inspected but there are
only about 150 inspectors nationwide, according to Nguyen Van Tien, chief inspector
of the MoLISA.

"All violations of construction regulations must be punished heavily. Businesses
should have their licences withdrawn if necessary. Workers must raise their
awareness of their rights and benefits so they can refuse to do their job if the
working site is too dangerous," said Trung.-Enditem