HANOI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of more than 860 people were killed in nearly 8,000 work-related accidents last year in Vietnam, according to the country's Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA)'s Labor Safety Department.
The figures were released at the press briefing on the occasion of the first action month of the year to promote workplace safety and hygiene, hosted by the MoLISA on Tuesday in Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
Total loss in terms of material damage, compensation, medicine and funeral costs was estimated at nearly 180 billion Vietnamese dong (some 7.96 million U.S. dollars).
Construction, mining and fishing jobs are considered the most dangerous sectors in the country.
Employers are the reason for more than 42 percent of fatal occupational accidents, while workers are responsible for more than 17 percent and 40 percent is by other causes, reported state-run news agency VNA on Wednesday.
The localities with the highest number of workplace accidents are the southern Ho Chi Minh City, capital Hanoi, southern Binh Duong province and central Thanh Hoa province.
According to MoLISA's head of the Labor Safety Department Ha Tat Thang, many fatal accidents have not been reported due to the lack of labor contracts between workers and employers in informal sectors.
The action month for labor safety will begin in Hanoi on May 1 as part of the city's efforts to raise public awareness on occupational safety, according to the ministry.
