Tragically, on May 26, during the 2025 Action Month on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), a devastating accident happened at Phuong Nam Ceramic Tile Co. in Vinh Cuu District of Dong Nai Province, resulting in the deaths of two workers, with three others requiring emergency hospital treatment.
Gas asphyxiation in the kiln section is the suspected cause. This incident followed another serious event on May 21 in Quang Nam Province, where an explosion involving a magnet surface coating machine at SGI Vina Co. Ltd.’s SGI Magnetic Nam Cham Factory (Bac Chu Lai Industrial Park) led to 12 hospitalizations. One worker sustained severe burns covering 60-70 percent of the body.
Occupational accidents inflict profound consequences, including loss of health, diminished employment opportunities, and even fatalities. Many individuals, once the primary breadwinners, become entirely dependent on their families.
Tran Le Thanh, a resident of Binh Chanh District in HCMC, still shudders when recalling the accident that left him permanently disabled. Formerly a dyer at a textile company in Binh Tan District of HCMC, he suffered an occupational accident in 2024, resulting in a 61-percent disability rating. Despite his experience and familiarity with safety protocols, a moment of oversight led to disaster.
“When I opened the lid of the fabric dyeing boiler, it unexpectedly exploded, causing full-body burns”, he recounted. He attributes the accident to unsafe production equipment, specifically a faulty thermal relay that failed to accurately display the boiler’s internal temperature and pressure. The incident transformed Thanh from his family’s main provider into someone reliant on his wife’s meager income from home-based sewing job.
Annually, thousands of tragic occupational accidents occur due to employee negligence and businesses’ non-compliance with regulations. Experts assert that most incidents stem from workers’ complacency, failure to adhere to procedures, inadequate skills, use of unsafe equipment, or compromised health conditions. However, employer shortcomings are also significant, including insufficient safety equipment, poorly maintained machinery, and disregard for OSH regulations.
Conversely, numerous enterprises that diligently implement safety measures have successfully minimized occupational accidents.
Trade Union President Nguyen Thi My Linh at Juki Vietnam Co. Ltd. (Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, District 7, HCMC) reported that a proactive warning initiative has prevented any recent occupational accidents at their company, despite operating in the high-risk mechanical engineering sector.
The company’s dedicated Labor Safety Committee conducts routine inspections and sets specific thematic targets for high-risk areas. Employees must identify at least one monthly hazard – from machine issues to unsafe sockets – fostering awareness and active participation in risk mitigation.
Under the theme “Strengthening risk assessment, hazard identification, and proactively implementing measures to ensure OSH at the workplace”, city-level trade unions have actively participated in this year’s Action Month on OSH. They have focused on disseminating and ensuring thorough understanding of Party guidelines, State policies and laws, and directives from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour concerning OSH.
Vice Chairman Pham Chi Tam of the HCMC Confederation of Labour stated that trade union organizations have collaborated with functional agencies and employers to consolidate efforts, foster awareness, and enhance the responsibilities and skills of OSH officers. This collaboration includes joint inspections and supervision of compliance with labor laws and the Law on OSH, intensified risk assessment, and the implementation of corrective measures to improve safe working conditions.
During the OSH Month, over 250 OSH officers, grassroots Trade Union officials, and personnel responsible for OSH and fire prevention and fighting (FPF) from units and businesses under the District 5 Confederation of Labour participated in training.
This combined theoretical instruction with hands-on experience using modern equipment, simulating fire and explosion scenarios, and practicing escape skills, the use of firefighting and rescue tools, and first aid. Deputy Head Tran Van Viet of the Hoa Binh Market Protection Team (District 5) found the program highly beneficial. “This training has equipped me with valuable knowledge to share with small traders and residents, enhancing their preventive awareness and emergency escape capabilities”, he remarked.
In 2024, HCMC recorded 903 occupational accidents, a 17.94-percent decrease compared to 2023. However, serious and fatal incidents in the construction sector continued to account for a high proportion. Reports from authorities and analyses by OSH experts indicate that organizational issues, inadequate working conditions, and unsafe equipment remain the primary causes of recent occupational accidents.
