HÀ NỘI — A report from the Labour Safety Department shows that 33.8 per cent of construction-related accidents are caused by employer negligence.

The report says little attention is paid to work-safety procedures, which often involves the use of  low-quality scaffolding structures and outdated equipment.

It adds that many labourers are not given proper safety training or equipment, leading to many accidents because workers do not know safety rules.

Many workers also do not use safety equipment and violate labour safety regulations, the report said.

Construction experts say that many necessary inspections of equipment never happen. Contractors and subcontractors sometimes use poor quality and outdated equipment.

Experts say workers should be aware, protect themselves and pay attention to work-safety rules.

They say more attention should be given to inspections that can increase investors’ awareness of work safety issues. Equipment and machines must be inspected before putting them into operation.

Injuries occur in many work places, but they are much more prevalent in the construction industry because of the often dangerous nature of the work.

In the first six months of 2017, construction-related accidents accounted for 25.8 per cent of accidents in the workplace and 24.2 per cent of workplace deaths, according to statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Labour Safety Department.

Some of the most common accidents at construction sites involve scaffolds or other types of lifts or ladders.

Last Wednesday morning, at a construction site owned by Toyota Mỗ Lao Ltd Co on Tố Hữu Street in Hà Nội’s Nam Từ Liêm District, three workers died and three others were injured when scaffolding collapsed. 

Local authorities claim that overloading was the main cause of the accident.

In September, a scaffolding collapse at Vườn Xanh Kindergarten, also in Nam Từ Liêm District, created panic but no deaths or injuries. 

Experts say workers should be aware, protect themselves and pay attention to work-safety rules.

They have made a plea for more attention to be given to inspections that can increase investor awareness of work-safety. This includes inspecting equipment and machines before putting them into operation. — VNS