Reduce occupational risks for environmental workers

Improve working conditions, reduce manual labor

Ms. Ninh Thi Loan, a garbage collector at Urenco - Hoan Kiem Branch (Hanoi) shared that she has been attached to the profession since 2006. The work mainly takes place in the evening, in crowded traffic conditions, narrow streets and often has to come into contact with sharp objects mixed in waste.

According to Ms. Loan, besides businesses equipping labor protection, each worker needs to proactively use full equipment and comply with safety procedures. She also hopes that people will dispose of garbage on time, in the right place, sort garbage at source; and at the same time notify or keep sharp objects and broken objects separately to limit the risk of injury to collecting workers.

Ms. Hoang Bich Hanh - Vice President of Urenco Trade Union - informed that in recent years, to improve safer working conditions for workers, the trade union has proposed to experts to arrange mobile guesthouses in localities for workers to rest between shifts.

Regimes for female workers, activities to care for spiritual life, support children of workers in difficult circumstances, award scholarships and gifts on holidays and Tet are also being implemented with attention.

According to her, regarding direct labor conditions, businesses are gradually mechanizing, towards using environmentally friendly vehicles. The pilot implementation of three-wheeled electric vehicles at Hoan Kiem Branch is expected to help reduce manual labor and limit adverse impacts on workers' health.

Considering the physical characteristics of female workers

Assessing healthcare solutions at enterprises, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Bich - Head of the Faculty of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Public Health - said that improving working conditions needs to be put first. In which, designing means and labor tools suitable to the physical characteristics of users is one of the issues that needs to be concerned about.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Bich, differences in height, physical strength and pushing and pulling ability between labor groups need to be considered when choosing equipment, especially for female workers. Suitable vehicles will contribute to reducing physical burden, limiting the risk of musculoskeletal problems during work. Another issue emphasized by experts is occupational disease insurance policy. According to her, it is necessary to research and evaluate on a scientific and practical basis to consider adding diseases related to musculoskeletal diseases to the list of occupational diseases eligible for insurance, if they meet the conditions according to regulations. This will contribute to protecting the rights of workers when their health is affected.

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