Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2024, publiée 113ème session CIT (2025)

Convention (n° 81) sur l'inspection du travail, 1947 - Viet Nam (Ratification: 1994)

Article 3 of the Convention. Labour Inspection in Industrial Processing Zones (IPZs). In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government indicates that since 2019, 63 provincial offices of DOLISA have carried out 1,231 inspections of industrial parks and export processing zones and issued 220 decisions on administrative sanctions with total fines for 7,927,966,552 Vietnamese dongs (equal to US$322,210). While taking note of this information, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of inspection visits carried out each year in the IPZs. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to provide details on the nature of these visits (regular or ad hoc; inspections responding to complaints or accidents; inspections announced in advance versus unannounced), the number of enterprises and workers in each IPZ, the number and nature of violations detected, and the number and nature of penalties imposed.

Article 5(b). Collaboration between officials of the labour inspectorate and employers and workers or their organizations. The Committee notes that, in reply to its previous comment, the Government provides information on the initiatives undertaken to ensure coordination with employers’ and workers’ organizations, for instance in the context of inspection campaigns, and in the development of regulations and plans for coordinated labour inspection in certain provinces. The Government indicates that the coordination between MOLISA and DOLISA inspectorates and central and provincial labour confederations helps enhance the employer's responsibility in protecting workers’ rights and benefits and helps raise workers’ awareness in the production process. The Committee also notes the VGCL’s indication that there are still some limitations and shortcomings to effective cooperation. The VGCL indicates that, while the Trade Union Law stipulates that Viet Nam trade unions have the right to participate in inspection and examination, the mechanism to ensure unions exercise of this right is not clear, and in some places, union participation is still quite passive. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the mechanisms to enhance cooperation between the labour inspection services and employers’ and workers’ organizations, and on their impact on improving conditions of work and the level of protection for workers while engaged in their work.

Article 9. Association of duly qualified technical experts and specialists in the work of inspection. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the 2022 Law on Inspection no longer contains provisions on inspection collaborators. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures to ensure that duly qualified technical experts and specialists, including specialists in medicine, engineering, electricity and chemistry, are associated in the work of inspection, in such manner as may be deemed most appropriate under national conditions, for the purpose of securing the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to the protection of the health and safety of workers while engaged in their work and of investigating the effects of processes, materials and methods of work on the health and safety of workers.

Article 14. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease and preventive function of labour inspection. In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government indicates that section 6 of the MOLISA Circular 28/2021/TT-BLDTBXH of 2021, provides for the notification to DOLISA of the cases of occupational diseases filed for compensation. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, according to section 16 of the Circular No. 28/2016/TT-BYT of 2016 of the Ministry of Health on the management of occupational diseases, the composition of the investigation teams for cases of occupational diseases includes representatives of the MOLISA and DOLISA at the central and local levels respectively. Concerning statistics on occupational accidents and diseases, the Government indicates that DOLISA inspectors identified 4,162 accidents since 2019. The Committee notes that the websites of MOLISA Department of Work Safety, to which the Government refers to for statistics on occupational accidents, appears to be not operational and that the Committee could not identify the statistics on occupational diseases on the website of the Ministry of Health to which the Government refers. Therefore, the Committee requests once again that the Government provide statistical information on the number of cases of industrial accidents and cases of occupational diseases which are notified to the labour inspectorate (both MOLISA and DOLISA inspectors), in accordance with Article 14 of the Convention.

Articles 17 and 18. Adequate penalties. In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government indicates that the main challenges faced by labour inspectors in the implementation of Articles 17 and 18 of the Convention include: (i) the low sense of compliance with regulations on labour and OSH by small and medium sized enterprises; (ii) the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic recession which led to business closure and bankruptcy. Many businesses are in arrears in social insurance payments, which is also a challenge for labour inspectors when performing their duties; (iii) the fact that inspected entities are not cooperative during inspection (the business representatives fail to show up, provide required documents or sign the minutes of administrative sanctions); and (iv) for enterprises on which administrative sanctions are imposed due to late social insurance contributions, the idea of blocking their accounts is largely impossible as such accounts are not existing or have a too low balance to cover the fines. The Committee also notes the statistics concerning the number and amount of administrative sanctions imposed, including in the context of inspection campaigns. The Committee further notes the adoption of the Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP of 2022 on penalties for administrative violations against regulations on labour, social insurance and Vietnamese workers working abroad, which contains provision on administrative sanctions. Noting the challenges identified by the Government to the effective implementation of Articles 17 and 18, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or foreseen in order to address them, in particular with regard to enhancing the need for compliance and the cooperation of business entities during inspections. The Committee also requests that the Government continue to provide information on the sanctions imposed including the total amount of fines imposed and collected, including in the context of the implementation of the Decree No. 12/2022/ND-CP. It also requests that the Government provides details on the number and types of violations detected, the number and nature of instances where signs of crime are detected, and the results of any suspected law violations transferred to the appropriate prosecutorial authorities including application of sanctions associated with such violations.