VietNamNet Bridge – More than 200 hard, harmful and dangerous jobs may be added to the current list of about 2,000.

A new list of dangerous jobs that includes mining non-ferrous metal ore, driving excavators and deep-sea diving is expected to be issued at the beginning of next year so that the extent of their danger and harmfulness can be assessed. (Photo: VNS)

The new danger jobs include mining non-ferrous metal ores in pits, producing and casing yellow phosphorus barrels, driving excavators, deep-sea diving, and working in Hai Van Tunnel.

The new list is expected to be issued at the beginning of next year, said Vu Nhu Van, deputy director of the ministry's Labour Safety Department.

The new additions were part of the cost of national socio-economic development, said Professor Le Van Tinh, from the Viet Nam General Federation of Labour.

"Therefore, it is totally right to review and adjust the list to suit the development of the country", he said.

Hard, harmful and dangerous jobs should be identified, he said. "We need scientific assessment to identify how harmful and dangerous jobs are," he said.

Previously, the list was compiled based on a criteria system developed in the Soviet Union in 1970s, he said.

Bui Duc Nhuong, of the ministry's Labour Safety Department, said the criteria system was based on levels of energy used by the many manual workers of the time.

Under the ministry's regulations, people doing harmful and dangerous jobs receive at least five per cent higher wages.

Labourers also receive a monthly allowance of food.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News