Construction worker Samnang (not his real name), spent weeks confined to
a hospital bed after piles of cement crashed down on him while he toiled
without a hard hat.
During the ensuing weeks of
recovery at his home, the 28-year-old nursed head injuries and a broken arm —
without anything in the way of financial or moral support from his employer.
Eventually, he was told to go
back to work or lose his job. Needing money, but still in pain, he had no
choice but to comply. He returned to find nothing had changed.
“We have no safety procedures in
place, and we’re not using safety equipment,” he said. “Construction workers
face a lot of risks at work, so we need the government to create a law to
protect our safety.”
A Ministry of Labour plan to
address a rise in deaths and injuries at construction sites, announced
yesterday in the lead-up to Cambodia’s third and final ASEAN summit as chair,
may go some way to addressing Samnang’s concerns.
Leng Tong, director of the
ministry’s occupational health and safety department, said officials had
proposed amending the Labour Law to include four prakases designed to protect
workers in the burgeoning construction industry.
“We’re worried because workplace
accidents in this industry are soaring,” he said.
“We see how unsafe conditions
are, and we’re urging safety equipment for all.”
The ministry’s latest figures
revealed 21 workers had died at construction sites between January 1 and June
30, while 5,948 were injured, Tong said.
Both figures have increased
marginally from the corresponding period last year.
“It’s difficult to blame workers
for these accidents,” Tong said. “Employers must be made to examine their
working conditions and ensure sites are safe.”
The prakases would address issues
relating to the use of safety equipment, including helmets and harnesses; the
transport of heavy materials to elevated heights; general safety and hygiene;
and workers’ access to information regarding building sites, Tong said.
Huy Han Song, secretary of state
at the Ministry of Labour, said such reform was required to bring Cambodia’s
safety standards into line with its regional neighbours, but he did not say
when he expected the changes to be introduced.
“Our safety system is very weak
if we compare it to other countries in ASEAN,” he said. “Safety is lacking on
big construction sites as well as on small housing projects.”
American Centre for International
Labor Solidarity country director Dave Welsh said more deaths seemed inevitable
unless the government followed through with its plans.
“We’ve been pushing them on this
for a long time,” he said. “[Reform] is the way to go about it. It’s definitely
necessary.”
Despite the informal and sporadic
nature of some construction work, employees had the right to safe conditions,
Welsh said.
David and Shane Worrell
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, you may contact us at: sbc.pte@gmail.com, provisionally. Many thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment