Circular No. 02-LDTBXH-TT on the provision of personal protective equipment in labor

CIRCULAR

OF THE MINISTRY OF LABOR, INVALIDS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

On the provision of personal protective equipment in labor

Pursuant to Decree No. 57/HĐBT dated March 24, 1987 of the Council of Ministers on the functions, tasks, and powers of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs.

To ensure safety and prevent occupational diseases for workers during the work process and to meet the requirements of the current management mechanism in a multi-component commodity economy, the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs issues this Circular on the provision of personal protective equipment in labor, replacing Circular No. 13-LĐ.TT dated June 29, 1962 on the provision of labor protection equipment issued by the Ministry of Labor.

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

1. Personal protective equipment consists of tools and means provided to workers during production and business activities to prevent workplace accidents and occupational diseases.

2. Workers working under dangerous and harmful conditions must be equipped with personal protective equipment free of charge according to the regulations stipulated by the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs or supplementary regulations agreed upon with the relevant sector.

3. Personal protective equipment must be produced or imported in accordance with national quality standards.

4. If a worker suffers a workplace accident due to a lack of personal protective equipment or equipment that does not meet the prescribed quality standards, the employer (director or head of the production and business unit) shall bear disciplinary responsibility, administrative liability, or be prosecuted under the law depending on the severity of the accident.

II. CONDITIONS OF LABOR THAT MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Workers must be equipped with personal protective equipment when they come into contact with any of the following factors while working:

1. Exposure to harmful physical factors such as temperature, noise, vibration, radiation, electromagnetic fields, pressure, or other harmful physical factors.

2. Exposure to toxic chemicals, toxic gases, toxic dust such as lead, mercury, bases, oxides, or other toxic chemicals.

3. Exposure to harmful biological factors and poor hygiene conditions such as:

Harmful bacteria (causing infectious diseases);

Excrement, water, garbage, foul-smelling sewers;

Other harmful biological factors.

4. Exposure to machinery, tools, or hazardous work positions and postures prone to workplace accidents such as operating circular saws, punch presses, paper cutters, working at heights, underground mining, handling electrical equipment with voltages over 12 volts, working on rivers and dense forests with thorns, leeches, ticks, or other hazardous working conditions.

III. SUBJECTS TO BE EQUIPPED WITH PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

1. Workers employed in state-owned enterprises or non-state-owned enterprises such as cooperatives, joint stock companies, private enterprises, foreign-invested enterprises, and foreign enterprises investing in Vietnam; regardless of whether they are employed under labor contracts or any other form and regardless of the length of employment.

2. Management staff who regularly inspect workplaces with harmful and dangerous working conditions as mentioned above.

3. Students, trainees, vocational students, or citizens performing public service labor at facilities if they have one or more of the dangerous and harmful working conditions mentioned above, the student management agencies, mobilization agencies, or user agencies shall be responsible for purchasing and providing personal protective equipment for distribution or loan based on the nature and duration of use of each type of equipment.

4. For small-scale production and business units that may not yet have the capacity to provide common work clothes but must provide sufficient personal protective equipment to ensure safety and hygiene for workers in dangerous and harmful environments.

IV. PRINCIPLES FOR USING PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

1. Production and business units must instruct workers to skillfully use personal protective equipment before handing it over to them and must strictly monitor its use.

2. Workers who are provided with personal protective equipment must use it in accordance with regulations while working.

3. Specialized personal protective equipment with high safety technical requirements such as gloves, boots, insulating rods, gas masks, safety belts, life jackets, production and business units must inspect and accept according to quality standards before first distribution to workers and periodically retest after use periods, maintaining records of inspections.

Workers must check personal protective equipment before use to prevent unexpected damage.

4. Personal protective equipment used in dirty places that easily cause infection, poisoning, or radiation contamination must be regularly disinfected, detoxified, or decontaminated using appropriate methods, and records of results must be kept, clearly noting the date, month, and year of inspection and retesting.

5. Based on the nature of the work, frequency of use, and quality of personal protective equipment, production and business units, with the participation of trade union representatives or labor collective representatives, shall determine appropriate usage periods.

6. Workers who lose or damage personal protective equipment without justifiable reasons must compensate according to the regulations of their production and business units.

V. RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES

1. Based on the provisions of this circular, relevant management sectors, provincial, municipal, and centrally-administered city People's Committees shall guide and disseminate these provisions to units and facilities under their jurisdiction and supervise implementation.

2. Heads of units and facilities, with the participation of trade union representatives or labor collective representatives, shall annually be responsible for planning the purchase, distribution, and provision of sufficient personal protective equipment for workers, and report to the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs for overall monitoring.

3. The unit or facility shall be responsible for signing contracts with commercial agencies or production and business establishments (both state-owned and non-state-owned) to purchase personal protective equipment, ensuring adequate and appropriate provision according to the requirements of workers within their own units or facilities in accordance with the prescribed regulations and standards.

4. Units and facilities shall not provide cash in lieu of issuing personal protective equipment to workers.

5. Departments of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs shall be responsible for assisting provincial People's Committees, city People's Committees, and centrally-run cities under the central government in guiding, urging, and inspecting all facilities (including central, local, state-owned, and non-state-owned) to strictly implement this Circular.

Any difficulties or ambiguities encountered during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs for study and resolution./.