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OH&S with the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU)
While the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is primarily an agricultural society, there are extensive mining and logging industries and more recently, work has begun on a number of World Bank and Asian Development Bank financed dams across tributaries of the Mekong river which will provide electricity for sale to neighboring Thailand.
The level of OH&S awareness, and enforcement of legislation in Lao is very low, and accidents and fatalities are common on these worksites. The level of HIV awareness is almost non-existent on some dam construction sites. Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA is working with the LFTU to raise awareness amongst employees and factory owners about:
OH&S training in a garment factory
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- the importance of protecting their human resources and factory assets
- the legal working conditions of workers
- the harm of labour accidents and illnesses and to understand the necessity of OHS for workers.
The OH&S and HIV Project
Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA is working with the Global Union Federation, the Building Workers International (BWI), as well as with the ILO, to deliver an OH&S and a HIV training program for workers.
Last year, Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA had assisted the training of a team from the LFTU in OH&S at the Bangkok-based Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Institute (OHSEI) and also with training assistance from the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour's own OH&S unit, the National Institute for Labour Protection (NLIP).
Dam Building Construction Sites Training
In August, and September 2006, this mobile LFTU OH&S team visited three dam and tunnel construction worksites and provided basic OH&S training for 216 workers, 52 of whom were women. They also provided one day of basic training for workers at the Lao-Chinese Cement Factory. Many more follow-up visits are planned for even the basic OH&S training, because the first visit reached only a tiny percentage of the workforce. For example, one dam construction site (the Thai-Italian NT2 site) where 56 workers were trained, has a total workforce of 4,000 Lao workers and 500 Thai workers. In May 2006, there were 233 accidents in which workers were injured. In June, 218 accidents, in July, 198 accidents and in August, 159 accidents. During this people, there were 5 fatalities on the worksite. Much more needs to be done on improving the OH&S situation and training for workers in all these workplaces.
Training in Wood Processing factories
During October, 2006, the LFTU OH&S team visited and ran basic training sessions in seven logging and wood processing worksites throughout Lao. Again, the OH&S team found the standard of safety in these worksites to be very low. For example, in one wood processing factory in Chomthong (a joint Lao-Japanese venture) there had been 20 serious accidents from January to October 2006. The workers did not even have personal protection equipment such as helmets, masks or gloves even though they worked in a dusty and hazardous workplace.
The OH&S team also ran a basic training course in a Lao-Korean lead mine which employed 300 local workers (156 of whom were members of the union). Training was provided for 48 men and 10 women workers around basic OH&S as well as the use of personal protection equipment.
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