Labour ministry, ILO target improved garment worker safety

The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and International Labour Organisation (ILO) met in Vientiane last week to review occupational health and safety aiming to protect workers’ wellbeing.
Technical Adviser, ILO/Vision Zero Fund in Laos, Mrs Kristina Kurths, along with senior officials from the ministry and invited guests attended the meeting.
During the meeting, participants discussed progress in implementing the Vision Zero Fund project in the garment sector of Champassak province.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Mrs Baikham Khatthiya said the ‘Project Advisory Communities Meeting Occupational Health and Safety in Lao PDR Supply Chains’ was an important milestone in supporting the protection of labour rights regarding occupational safety and health (OSH) in Laos.
The meeting provided an opportunity to network, strengthen relationships and explore opportunities for collaboration in the region and beyond while acting as a platform for knowledge and ideas that could be put to immediate practical use, she said.
OSH is an integral part of a country’s development and encouraging a more action-oriented approach to raise OSH standards through the Asean-OSHNET Plan of Action (2016-2020).
While Laos’s economy is growing, unsafe working conditions continue to expose farm and factory workers to significant hazards and risks in both domestic and export-oriented sectors.
These unsafe conditions can cause human suffering through workplace accidents, injuries, and diseases, and can also impact negatively on a business’ production and productivity.
A senior official from the Ministry of Health said the health of the workers has several determinants, including risk factors at the workplace leading to cancers, accidents, musculoskeletal diseases, respiratory diseases, hearing loss, circulatory diseases, stress-related disorders and communicable diseases and others.
Basic occupational health services are important for resource-scarce workplaces such as small to medium-sized enterprises, the self-employed, and informal sectors to protect workers’ health and safety.
According to the ministry, strengthened risk management capabilities in Asean provide the foundation to improve OSH standards in collaboration with key partners such as the ILO and others that have traditionally provided support.

By Times reporters
(Latest Update December 16, 2019)