HO CHI MINH CITY, Viet Nam – 2,500 garment workers will run this Sunday 25 April at 7.00am at Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park, Binh Duong Province in a safety campaign to mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2010.

Garment workers from Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding provinces will participate in the run, having fun while also learning more about good safety and health practices in factories. Participating workers will also have chance to earn prizes including 10 grand prizes of 1 million dong.

The Safety Run campaign is organized by Better Work Vietnam to raise awareness of occupational safety and health in the Vietnamese apparel industry. The campaign will also give workers and their managers the chance to enjoy themselves together with a focus on joint ways to promote safety through understanding risks and preventative measures inside their factories.

Mr Pham Van Son Khanh, Vice Chairman of Management Board of Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), said ‘This is definitely a useful event. It gives an opportunity to strengthen the knowledge of both employers and workers on occupational safety and health in factories. Through the event, workers from industrial zones can also learn and share on labour issues. VSIP fully supports Better Work Vietnam in such innovative campaign.’

‘We work every day to help improve working conditions in apparel factories in Vietnam,’ said Ms Tara Rangarajan, Programme Manager for Better Work Vietnam. ‘This run is one way that the programme is working to spread key safety messages throughout the industry. Ensuring better safety at work is part of everyone’s responsibility. The best way to help decrease accidents at work is for everyone – workers and management – to focus on prevention.’

During 2009 alone, a total of 6,421 people were injured at work in Viet Nam, 550 of whom died and 1,221 of whom were severely wounded. Apart from the physical and mental impacts of these accidents, they also led to thousands of job losses, with critical impacts both for workers, their families and communities. The apparel industry in particular has a range of safety hazards that can be avoided through a focus on prevention and training.

Better Work Vietnam is part of the Better Work global programme, a unique partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), aiming to improve labor standards and competitiveness in global supply chains. Better Work Vietnam seeks to improve working conditions and business performance in Vietnamese garment industry. It does so through assessment of labor compliance according to the international labor standards and Vietnamese national labor law, and advisory and training services for sustainable improvement. More information on the programme is available on its web site.

For further information please contact:

Ms Nguyen Thuy Binh
Training Manager
Better Work Vietnam
Email

Ms Le Thi Huong Lien
Communication Officer
ILO Country Office for Viet Nam
Email