Workers at a construction site in HCM City’s District 3. — VNS Photo Ngọc Diệp

HCM CITY — A campaign launched in HCM City on Friday calls on at least 100 factories in southern Việt Nam to set the ambitious target of 100 days without occupational accidents.
The "100 days without accidents" campaign will run until the end of this year, and seeks to ensure there are not even minor injuries or near misses.
It is part of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprise (SCORE) programme in Việt Nam.
Factories that sign up for the campaign will participate in SCORE Training, which combines classroom training, factory consulting visits and awareness-raising activities to help companies and workers improve safety standards.
Chang-Hee Lee, ILO Việt Nam director, said "safety and health are fundamental rights of workers".
“So employers and workers should be well aware of the risks and take necessary measures to prevent them.”
Work-related accidents killed more than 1,000 workers and injured 8,200 others last year, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ occupational safety report.
“Ensuring the safety of workers would contribute to businesses’ development,” Trần Ngọc Liêm, deputy director of the VCCI’s HCM City office, said.
Stephan Ulrich, regional manager of the SCORE programme, said investing in the safety of workers brings excellent returns in the form of healthier and more motivated and productive workers, and avoids costs associated with accidents for companies as well as society as a whole.
"Successful businesses are which continually improve their production systems along with their safety management systems," he said.
It estimated that losses in terms of compensation, lost work days, interrupted production, training and reconversion and healthcare expenditure represent 3.94 per cent of the world's annual GDP. — VNS