Work safety

Viet Nam ratifies ILO Convention, showing strong commitment to work safety

The Convention on Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health, known as Convention 187, is expected to help the country with its work safety laws and international trade negotiations.

News | 12 March 2014
HA NOI (ILO News) – Work safety now tops the priority list of Viet Nam’s national agenda as the country has ratified ILO Convention on Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health, a senior Government official said on 12 March in Hanoi at a press conference announcing the ratification.

The new convention, known as Convention 187, aims to promote the continuous improvement of working conditions to prevent work injuries, diseases and deaths through national policies and programmes in line with international labour standards.

“Viet Nam’s ratification of Convention 187 is significant,” said Vice Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Pham Minh Huan. He added that the move will help the lawmaking process in the area of safety and health at work in the coming time, especially as the country is going ahead with the draft Law on Work Safety and Health and joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.

According to ILO Country Director, Gyorgy Sziraczki, the ratification shows Viet Nam’s efforts in striving for a “preventive culture” to make workplace safer and is part of a “process of improvement” which also involves employer-worker dialogues and better labour inspection.

“This sends out a strong signal to the world that made-in-Viet Nam products are produced in good conditions,” he said. “It will result in better trades and competitiveness for Vietnamese enterprises.”

Viet Nam is the third country in Southeast Asia and the fifth in Asia to ratify Convention 187, after Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.

Convention 187 came into force in 2009 and has had 29 State members before Viet Nam’s joining.

This marks the 21st ILO convention Viet Nam has ratified.