Circular No. 23/1998/TT-BGTVT stipulates working hours and rest periods for those engaged in particularly hazardous work in railway transportation.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on working hours and rest periods for persons engaged in particularly hazardous work in railway transportation

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Regulations on working hours and rest periods for persons engaged in particularly special work in railway transportation

Implementing Article 80 of the Labour Code, and Clause 12 of Decree No. 195/CP dated December 31, 1994 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Labour Code regarding working hours and rest periods; After receiving the agreement opinion in Document No. 259/LDTBXH-BHLĐ dated January 24, 1998 of the Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Transport stipulates working hours and rest periods for persons engaged in particularly special work in enterprises, production, business, and service transport companies as follows:

II- SUPPORT MEASURES FOR STATE-OWNED AGRICULTURAL FARMS AND FORESTRY COMPANIES IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. In these Circulars, the following terms are understood as follows

- Shift work system refers to the system where workers take turns continuously working both day and night shifts, including weekly rest days and holidays, to fulfill the requirements of railway transportation and ensure that workers have sufficient rest time according to labour law regulations.

- On-shift duration refers to the length of time specified for workers to be present at their workplace in a day to perform assigned tasks, including preparation time, operation time, on-site standby rest time, and completion time as prescribed by railway transportation technology.

- Off-shift duration refers to the length of time specified for rest after completing a shift before moving to the next shift.

- Train crew work system refers to the system where workers take turns continuously working on trains to ensure train journeys and provide sufficient rest time for workers according to labour law regulations.

- Train journey time refers to the time from departure station to turnaround station according to the train schedule and includes necessary operational time at the departure station and turnaround station as prescribed by railway transportation technology.

- Actual necessary working hours in a day (24 consecutive hours) refer to the time determined based on the workload and advanced average labour quota of the enterprise, including standard completion time but excluding on-site standby rest time during the shift for workers.

2. Determination of working hours and rest periods.

Based on the continuous or non-continuous nature and the heavy or light workload of the job, employers determine the actual necessary working hours in a day to arrange specific working hours and rest periods suitable for each position engaged in particularly special work under the shift system and train crew work system stipulated in this Circular and must obtain the participation opinion of the trade union organization before implementation.

II- WORKING HOURS - REST PERIODS

A. SHIFT WORK SYSTEM

a) Cadres, civil servants, public officials, and workers as stipulated in Article 2 of Decree No. 178/2024/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2024 (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 67/2025/NĐ-CP dated March 15, 2025) of the Government on policies and treatment for cadres, civil servants, public officials, workers, and armed forces personnel in the process of organizational restructuring of the political system, having a total mandatory social insurance contribution period of at least 15 years when working in heavy, hazardous, or dangerous jobs or extremely heavy, hazardous, or dangerous jobs listed by the agency under the Government responsible for labor administration, or working in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions including time worked in places with regional allowances of coefficient 0.7 or higher before January 1, 2021, and reaching the retirement age as specified in Appendix II issued together with Decree No. 135/2020/NĐ-CP, ceasing work immediately due to direct impact from organizational restructuring and implementation of the two-level local government model;

- Workers inspecting, repairing, and maintaining locomotives and carriages at locomotive and carriage stations, and workers supplying fuel, materials, and water to locomotives and carriages;

- Staff managing and operating locomotives and carriages serving at locomotive and carriage stations, and on-board stations;

- Station dispatchers, dispatchers at central stations;

- Shift leaders, guards, ticket collectors, couplers, engine drivers;

- Staff checking goods, carriages, serving passengers, transporting goods, and security personnel at stations and stops;

- Carriage cleaning workers;

- Crossing gate workers;

- Bridge, tunnel, and railway patrol and guard workers;

- Communication, signal, and power workers on duty at stations, stops, and power sources, switchboards.

2. Working hours and rest periods

a) For positions engaged in particularly heavy, hazardous, dangerous, high-volume, continuous day-and-night work with actual necessary working hours in a day being 24 hours, then:

- On-shift duration does not exceed 6 hours, off-shift duration is at least 12 hours, maximum number of shifts in a month is 26 shifts.

b) For positions working in places with high-volume, continuous day-and-night work with actual necessary working hours in a day being 24 hours and requiring 1 to 2 hours for shift handover duties, then:

- On-shift duration does not exceed 8 hours, off-shift duration is at least 22 hours, maximum number of shifts in a month is 22.5 shifts, or:

- On-shift duration does not exceed 12 hours, off-shift duration is at least 22 hours, maximum number of shifts in a month is 15 shifts.

c) For positions working in places with high-volume, continuous day-and-night work with actual necessary working hours in a day being 24 hours, then:

- On-shift duration does not exceed 8 hours, off-shift duration is at least 12 hours, maximum number of shifts in a month is 26 shifts, or:

- On-shift duration does not exceed 12 hours, off-shift duration is at least 22 hours, maximum number of shifts in a month is 17.5 shifts.

d) For positions working in places with relatively high volume but non-continuous work with actual necessary working hours in a day not exceeding 16 hours, then:

- On-shift duration does not exceed 8 hours, off-shift duration is at least 10 hours, maximum number of shifts in a month is 21 shifts; employers may arrange for workers to work two consecutive shifts before taking an off-shift break.

đ) For positions working in places with low volume, non-continuous work with actual necessary working hours in a day not exceeding 12 hours, then:

- On-shift duration does not exceed 12 hours, off-shift duration is at least 10 hours, maximum number of shifts in a month is 26 shifts; employers may arrange for workers to work two consecutive shifts before taking an off-shift break.

e) For positions working in places with low volume, non-continuous work with actual necessary working hours in a day not exceeding 8 hours, then:

- On-shift duration does not exceed 16 hours, off-shift duration is at least 8 hours, maximum number of shifts in a month is 26 shifts; employers may arrange for workers to work three consecutive shifts before taking an off-shift break.

3. The additional working hours in one month shall not exceed 39 hours for positions performing particularly arduous, hazardous, and dangerous work as specified in point a, Clause 2, Section A, Part II, and shall not exceed 52 hours for positions performing work as specified in points b, c, d, đ, and e, Clause 2, Section A, Part II of this Circular.

- Additional working hours in one year shall not exceed 200 hours.

B. WORK REGIME ON TRAINS

a) Cadres, civil servants, public officials, and workers as stipulated in Article 2 of Decree No. 178/2024/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2024 (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 67/2025/NĐ-CP dated March 15, 2025) of the Government on policies and treatment for cadres, civil servants, public officials, workers, and armed forces personnel in the process of organizational restructuring of the political system, having a total mandatory social insurance contribution period of at least 15 years when working in heavy, hazardous, or dangerous jobs or extremely heavy, hazardous, or dangerous jobs listed by the agency under the Government responsible for labor administration, or working in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions including time worked in places with regional allowances of coefficient 0.7 or higher before January 1, 2021, and reaching the retirement age as specified in Appendix II issued together with Decree No. 135/2020/NĐ-CP, ceasing work immediately due to direct impact from organizational restructuring and implementation of the two-level local government model;

- Drivers, assistant drivers;

- Passenger train conductors, freight train conductors;

- Train staff including service personnel, escorts, security guards, cargo handlers, and equipment operators on board.

2. Working hours and rest periods

a) For drivers and assistant drivers: working hours shall not exceed 12 hours in one day and 156 hours in one month. Additional working hours in one month shall not exceed 39 hours, and in one year shall not exceed 200 hours.

b) For passenger train conductors, freight train conductors, and train staff: working hours shall not exceed 12 hours in one day and 208 hours in one month. Additional working hours in one month shall not exceed 52 hours, and in one year shall not exceed 200 hours.

c) Rest time after a train journey to switch to the next journey shall be at least 12 hours. In cases where the train schedule requires it, rest time between two journeys may be shorter but must be equal to or greater than the working hours of the preceding journey.

d) Rest time between two train journeys if it must be performed on the train or when waiting to take over work or moving to another location shall not be considered working hours.

đ) For short sections, locomotive concentration, and trains that alternate shifts (rest between two train journeys) on the train, employers may apply the shift work regime as stipulated in Clause 2, Section A, Part II of this Circular.

e) In all cases where the train encounters obstacles or accidents, the responsibility of those working on the train is to return the train to the designated location, and only after handing over the train can they go to rest.

C. WEEKLY LEAVE, ANNUAL LEAVE, AND OTHER LEAVES

Positions working under the shift system and the train work regime as specified in Sections A and B, Part II of this Circular shall enjoy weekly leave, annual leave, holidays, and other paid leaves according to the Labor Code and guiding documents implementing the Labor Code.

D. OTHER PROVISIONS

1. For certain jobs that cannot be left, employers must arrange for workers to eat and rest on-site to ensure work continuity.

2. Employers must arrange to ensure eating and resting places for positions that, during standby periods or shift changes, must eat and rest at the workplace or on the train.

3. In emergency situations such as natural disasters, fires, enemy attacks, or traffic accidents, employers have the right to mobilize workers to quickly address consequences and restore traffic.

III- IMPLEMENTATION

1. Employers in organizations, production, business, and railway transportation enterprises have the responsibility:

a) To determine the actual necessary working hours in a day suitable for each position at specific workplaces and to develop measures to implement the shift work regime and the train work regime as stipulated in this Circular.

b) To directly notify workers, record in labor contracts, collective labor agreements, and stipulate working hours and rest times in the enterprise's labor regulations regarding the working hour and rest time regimes as specified in this Circular.

2. This Circular takes effect 15 days from the date of signature. Previous documents with content contrary to this Circular are abolished. During implementation, if there are difficulties, please report to the Ministry of Transport for resolution.