Many blue-collar workers in Da Nang and elsewhere in Viet Nam must take on any kind of jobs available to make ends meet. According to statistics of the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in 2021, occupational accidents in the construction industry accounts for 15% of the total number of accidents, followed by the production of materials, footwear and textiles.Main reasons comes from untrained workers, poor sense of discipline, subjectivity, lack of protective equipment, especially  the freelance workforce on duty at construction sites.

A doctor monitors the patient’s health after the 30-minute bronchoscopy to remove the iron nail in his left lung. Photo courtesy of the Da Nang General Hospital.

A blue-collar gig worker hailing from Phuoc Hung Village, Hoa Nhon Commune, Hoa Vang District recently faced a serious occupational accident whilst at work.

The man was harvesting acacia at a forestation in Hoa Nhon Commune when a big tree trunk fell down onto him, knocking him unconscious.

He was diagnosed by doctors  with spinal cord contusion, cervical vertebrae fracture causing total paralysis and then underwent a 9 -month treatment period at the hospital.

The male worker had not been engaged in any labour contracts with employers and before the accident happened. Therefore, he was not entitled to the benefits in case of occupational accidents according to the national in-force regulations. Even worse, he did not participate in health insurance and social insurance.

At that time, the owner of the acacia garden only gave his family a small amount of money in aid pay parts of hospital fees and medicines, so he had no choice but to borrow more from relatives and friends to cover the treatment cost.

Loss of his working ability, along with prolonged illness, sent his family into financial difficulties.
When an occupational accident occurs, it is difficult for blue-collar gig workers without a binding contract to claim benefits from their employes.

More recently, while pushing a turtle cart carrying cement at a construction site in Lien Chieu District, a local male labourer unfortunately slipped down and fell from the 2nd floor down to the ground. The unexpected fall broke his ribs and crushed his marrow.  After the accident, his health deteriorated, and he was no longer able to do physically demanding jobs.

It is known that this man is a freelance worker, so when in trouble, the contractor only helped him cover parts of medicine expenses.

In another occupational accident, the Da Nang General Hospital doctors recently successfully removed a 3cm-long sharp iron nail from a male patent’s bronchi.

As reported, the 45-year- old bricklayer residing in the central province of Quang Ngai was keeping three nails in his mouth to make it easier to do the formwork when he accidentally swallowed one of them during talking with his co-workers.

After that, he had only a slight cough and no shortness of breath. Some days later, the patient decided to go to the Da Nang General Hospital for checkups.

After performing subclinical techniques, the doctors from the Department of Respiratory Internal Medicine - Allergic Immunology immediately conducted a 30-minute bronchoscopy to remove the pointed iron nail from the patient's left lung.

This was a challenging treatment case under which a patient inhaled a rather large and pointed object.

The nail was lodged in a deep position and its tip faced up and slippery, so only specialised tools were used to get it out of the bronchi.

In order to prevent such occupational accidents, employees should follow safety principles at work, do not use their mouths to hold hard, sharp and round objects. Severe consequences cause damage to the respiratory tract due to ingesting foreign bodies.

As stipulated in Circular No. 28/2021/TT-BLDTBXH released by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health on benefits for employees suffering from occupational accidents or diseases, the employer is only responsible for the employee suffering an occupational accident or disease if they work under the labour contract, or those who are probationers, apprentices, cadres, civil servants, public employees, armed forces, Vietnamese employees working abroad under contracts, foreign workers working in Viet Nam.

Facing unforeseen risks of occupational accidents, especially towards freelance workers, the Da Nang People's Committee requested the municipal Department of Construction to strengthen publicity on occupational safety and health in the construction field to stakeholders participating in construction investment activities.

Also, they should keep a tight watch on construction activities at all levels and take occupational safety measures at constructions sites, especially at large-scale and high-rise projects using such machines as hoists and tower cranes.

In order to protect themselves from accidents at work, in addition to complying with regulations on occupational safety, groups of freelance workers should require their employers to sign a labour contract and actively participate in voluntary social,  occupational accident and medical insurance packages to access legible benefits in the wake of accidents at work.

Reporting by HUYNH LE - Translating by A.THU