Research

Besides other activities such as Training, Information, MSS, ..., Vietnam Business Links Initiative has continuously carry out researches regarding working environment in footwear industry. This content implementation, on one side, helps the Programme comprehensively understand the obstacles that footwear businesses are facing, closely access to coming requirements and bring forward some of effective solutions for the field based on multinational sportswear corporations' experiences and Vietnam legislation system. On the other side, this work helps the Programme continuously update and improve its activities to meet the demand of the industry.

Due to typical features of the industry, people working here, especially the female, have to contact with substances and elements, which according to them are harmful to their health. “Working in the footwear industry is working with noise, chemical, dust, heat and machinery. The workers’ wish is how to reduce bad effects of the above elements”. Meeting the demand of workers, VBLI has been doing researches in order to improve working condition and labours’ health in factories, especially for females.

Up to present, VBLI has cooperated with Vietnamese professionals to conduct such researches as: Worker consultation on OHS, a research on related international standards such as ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001, a research on levels of dust, noise, heat and chemical vapour, and the last one is the research on female labour and gender issue in footwear.

The survey on worker consultation was implemented at in March 2001 in collaboration with ActionAid Vietnam, with the aim at collecting information about workers’ perception on OHS in the footwear industry to feed back to the management and workers for working condition and productivity improvement. All the results show that in general workers don’t clearly make sense of General OHS issue and OHS solutions, so as in an inappropriate position to evaluate the current working conditions.

Whereas, the research on ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001, which covers over 20 businesses in Hanoi and surrounding provinces, focuses on analyzing the real situation of footwear factories compared with international requirement of these standards, based on which some valuable suggestions would be put forward to management for consideration.

The research on current working condition in relation with occupational hazardous elements in footwear industry is carried out with the participation of National Institute of Labour Protection (NILP). By actual measurement and analysis method over 130 footwear businesses in the whole country, the research proves actual levels of some above elements in comparison with allowable standards, hereby give out some macro suggestions for improving them.

Gender issue is always given special priority in footwear industry. Occupying about 85% labour force, female workers are much affected by hazardous elements, not only to their health but also to their long lasting lives. Conducting the Survey of Female labor and Gender issue VBLI interviewed workers from 3 different kinds of footwear enterprises, state-owned, private and foreign-invested. Based on the opinions collected, female labour and gender issues in this field are raised and recognized regarding OHS. The survey lasts from December 2001 to April 2002. However, due to its small representation and covering other than OHS issue, the report of the survey is only for reference within the framework of VBLI.

Summary of three researches:

Summary... Research on hazardous elements Survey report on ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001 Worker consultation survey

According to work plan of VBLI in 2003, it will finalise the gender research, further conduct some other worker consultation surveys and other OHS researches. Feel free to contact us for any other details.