CIRCULAR

GUIDING IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS ON PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Pursuant to Article 149 Labor Code dated June 18, 2012;

Pursuant to Government’s Decree No. 106/2012/ND-CP dated 20/12/2012, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Labor - Invalid and Social Affair;

At the proposal of Director of the Department of Labor safety,

The Minister of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs promulgates Circular guiding implementation of regulations on personal protective equipment.

Chapter 1.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular guides the implementation of regulations on personal protective equipment; list of personal protective equipment for laborers doing occupations, works in contact with harmful, dangerous elements.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. The employers in enterprises, agencies, organizations, cooperatives; individuals using laborers, including:

a) Administrative agencies; non-business units; armed forces (including forces doing cipher work);

b) Political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations, other social organizations;

c) Enterprises of all economic sectors;

d) Cooperatives;

dd) Agencies, foreign organizations, international organizations locate head office on territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

e) Other organizations and individuals using laborers.

2. Civil servants, public employees, employees working in environment with harmful, dangerous elements including managers regularly going for inspection, examination and supervision on the field, research officers, teachers, internships, apprentices or laborers on probationary in enterprises, agencies, cooperatives, organizations and individuals using laborers state at Clause 1 this Article.

Article 3. Personal protective equipment

1. Personal protective equipment are necessary tools and means provided to worker during their work or performing their duties in order to protect bodies from impact of harmful, dangerous elements arising during their work, when dangerous, harmful elements are not be able to eliminated entirely by technological solutions, equipment, technical safety and labor hygiene measures at the working place.

2. Personal protective equipment includes:

a) Head protective devices;

b) Eye and face protective devices;

c) Hearing protective devices;

d) Respiratory protective devices;

dd) Hand and foot protective devices;

e) Body protective devices;

g) Protective devices preventing of falling from height;

h) Protective devices preventing of electric shock, electromagnetic field;

i) Protective devices preventing down;

k) Other devices ensuring occupational safety and health.

3. Personal protective equipment provided for employees should be adequate to prevent effectively the effective of harmful, dangerous elements of working environment but convenient and easily for use and maintenance and should not create other harmful elements.

4. Personal protective devices must satisfy the quality, specification in accordance with regulations, standards and other provisions of the State.

Chapter 2.

PRINCIPLES FOR PROVISION, USE AND MAINTENANCE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Article 4. Conditions for provision of personal protective equipment

Workers who during their work are in contact with one of the following dangerous and harmful elements shall be provided with personal protective equipment:

1. Contacting with disadvantageous physical elements;

2. Contacting with harmful chemicals and dust;

3. Contacting with harmful biological elements and disadvantageous working environment:

a) Harmful virus, bacteria (transmittal diseases), harmful insects;

b) Polluted dung, water, sewage;

c) Other harmful biological elements;

4. Working with machinery, equipment, working tools, or in positions with high risks of occupational accidents; working in the height, in mines, low-oxygen places; working on water, in forest or working in other dangerous and harmful working conditions.

Article 5. Principles for provision of personal protective equipment

1. The employers shall ensure to carry out technological, equipment, technical safety and occupational hygiene measures to eliminate or to reduce to minimum the damage of dangerous and harmful elements as less as possible and to improve working conditions before providing personal protective equipment.

2. The employers provide personal protective equipment for the employee in accordance with the list in Annex 1 promulgated together with this Circular. Where unsafe occupations having dangerous and harmful elements not ensuring health safety for employees are not covered yet in the list of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the employers shall be temporally allowed to provide personal protective equipment to meet the requirements of such occupations, and they shall concurrently send reports to the provincial Departments of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, of Ministries, sectors directly managing them according to the set form in Annex 2 promulgated together with this Circular for supplement to list by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

3. The employers, based on requirements of each job or each occupation in the workplace and taking into account the opinions of grassroots trade union or representatives of employees collective shall set up a life time of personal protective equipment to fit with nature of work and quality of used personal protective equipment.

4. The employers must make a book of providing and monitoring the personal protective equipment and this book must have signatures of employees received personal protective equipment according to form in Annex 3 promulgated together with this Circular.

5. Employees have right to request the employers for providing new equipment or changing kind of personal protective equipment specified in Annex 1 promulgated together with this Circular to be adequate with actual conditions. The employers shall consult opinions of grassroots trade union or representatives of employees collective before decision.

6. The employers shall, depend on specific requirements, provide necessary personal protective equipment for visitors or learners to use during visit and study.

7. All acts by employer to pay cash in hand for employee instead of providing personal protective equipment or to pay cash in hand and let employee to purchase personal protective equipment themselves are strictly prohibited.

Article 6. Principles for use of personal protective equipment

1. The employer shall instruct their workers how to smoothly use the adequate personal protective equipment and closely supervise their use.

2. As for the dedicated personnel protective devices that require technically high safety, the employer (or persons authorized for provision) shall check to ensure quality, standards of personal protective devices before distribution to the employee and periodically recheck personal protective equipment during use and make records into a logbook; not using equipment failing to satisfy technical requirements or expired.

3. Persons provided personal protective equipment must use that equipment in accordance with regulations during work. If employees violate regulations, depend on seriousness of violation, they must bear discipline in accordance with labor rules of their establishments or provisions of law.

4. Workers shall not pay for personal protective equipment. In case personal protective equipment is lost, damaged, or expired, the employer shall provide a substitute. In case of the loss or break- down without legitimate reasons, a worker shall pay in accordance with labor rules of establishments. When personal protective equipment run out of life time for using or when the employee moves to other occupations, the employee shall return personal protective equipment to the employer if required but they must sign for handing over.

Article 7. Principles for maintenance of personal protective equipment

1. The employer shall provide facility for storing and maintaining personal protective equipment according to the instructions of manufactures, or producer of such personal protective equipment. Workers shall keep the provided personal protective equipment.

2. As for personal protective devices used in polluted areas vulnerable by toxic substance, bacteria, radiation, after using, the employer shall carry out anti- contamination measures, bacteria sterilize, appropriate purging measures to meet the requirements of Hygiene and safety standards for employees, surrounding environment and shall check such equipment periodically.

Chapter 3.

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 8. Responsibilities of the employer

1. Based on provisions of personal protective equipment promulgated in this Circular and the life time of personal protective equipment already been decided, the employer shall consult opinions of grassroots trade union or representatives of employees collective to set up an annual plan for purchasing personal protective equipment (including a reserve plan).

2. Expenditures for procuring, providing personal protective equipment shall be accounted into regular expenses for administrative agencies, non-business units, accounted into cost for production and business of the production and business establishments.

3. Periodically, reporting to the provincial Departments of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs about implementation of personal protective equipment together with implementation of occupational safety and hygiene.

Article 9. Responsibilities of the provincial Departments of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs

1. Assisting People's Committees in provinces and central-affiliated cities to disseminate this Circular to all enterprises, production and business establishments located in their localities; and instructing, urging, examining, inspecting implementation of regulations on personal protective equipment in localities managed by them.

2. Periodically, summing up and reporting to Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs about implementation of this Circular together with implementation of occupational safety and hygiene by enterprises, agencies and organizations in their localities.

Article 10. Responsibilities of Ministries, Ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies, People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities

Ministries, Ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies, People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall sum up, propose the Ministry of Labor - Invalid and Social Affair to promulgate amendments to list of personal protective equipment for laborers doing occupations, works in contact with harmful, dangerous elements, and guide, direct, urge, check implementation of regulations on personal protective equipment at enterprises, agencies, organizations under their management.

Article 11. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on April 15, 2014.

2. Decision No. 1407/1997/QD-BLDTBXH dated November 14, 1997 of Minister of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs on promulgating the personal protective equipment standard for special occupations, works of national serve sector; Circular No. 10/1998/TT-LDTBXH dated May 28, 1998, of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, guiding implementation of regulations on personal protective equipment; Decision No. 68/2008/QD-BLDTBXH dated December 29, 2008, of Minster of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, promulgating list of personal protective equipment for laborers doing occupations, works with harmful, dangerous elements and other documents which are contrary to this Circular cease to be effective on the effective date of this Circular.

3. In the course of implementation, any arising problems should be reported to the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs for study and settlement.