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Garment workers and occupational diseases

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Tran Cong
Garment workers and occupational diseases

The longer they work for a long time, the more garment workers are at risk of many diseases that are considered "early before age", affecting health and economy ...
Or tired, hurt people

Ms. Nguyen Thi Le in Thanh Hai commune (Thanh Ha) has more than ten years working in garment companies. Ms. Le said that starting her career, she worked in the direct production department. The characteristic of garment workers is that she often has to overtime, even one day she sits continuously for up to 12 hours. About 4 years ago, Ms. Le showed signs of pain, numbness in her right leg and back. Examination, the doctors concluded that she had a herniated disc. When she learned that she worked as a sewing profession, the doctors advised her to move to another position, limit sitting too long in place.

When her illness improved, Ms. Le returned to the company to work. The company also facilitated her transition to work as an inventory manager. However, the monotonous work, just standing in one place and the declining health, made Ms. Le always feel tired, or suffer from dizziness and headache. Two months ago, Ms. Le went to the examination. The doctors concluded that she had vestibular disorder and physical weakness. “I have been working as a sewing worker for more than a decade. In my family is the main laborer. Now I don't know where to start when I change my job. Having to accept the disease, then cure it, then continue with the profession "- Ms. Le said sadly.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong from Dong Lac commune (Chi Linh) is currently a worker at Dong Tam Garment Co., Ltd. (Hai Duong city) sharing the same pain and illness. Ms. Huong studied industrial sewing and has been with this profession for nearly a decade. Recently, she often aches and faints and gets dizzy when standing up. There are days when she can work half the time, Ms. Huong has to ask for a rest home. To cope with the pain situation, Ms. Huong also purchased a set of utensils for breathing in the evenings.

 All you need to look for: best sewing machine

According to our research, there are quite a lot of workers in the garment industry, especially those who have worked for a long time with such medical conditions as Ms. Le and Ms. Huong. In Hai Duong, there is no survey on the diseases that garment workers may suffer. However, in the first 6 months of this year, the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Hygiene and Public Health conducted a survey of more than 1,000 garment workers aged 25-35 in 3 enterprises in Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City and Dong. Deer. The results showed that 93% of workers suffered from fatigue after work, of which 47% were tired of the whole body; 16.7% had severe headaches and headaches; 15.1% were exhausted; more than 80% of muscle and joint pain in the waist, neck and shoulder area ...

Mr. Nguyen Van Hinh - Dean of the Department of Occupational Health, Center for Preventive Medicine - said, the garment industry is in the field of light industry. The work is not hard but monotonous and often have to sit or stand for too long, so it is easy to get the diseases according to the survey above. In addition, during the process of working, workers are also often in contact with dust from sewing fabrics and cotton. If workers are not wearing appropriate masks or have a respiratory illness. When suffering from this disease, if not treated in time, it can lead to chronic, adversely affecting health as well as quality of life. Garment workers are also susceptible to eye diseases if the working environment is not well lit

Businesses need to step in

Most of the diseases that the garment workers mentioned above are not on the list of occupational diseases as prescribed. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Hinh, the above diseases are common diseases that anyone can get, especially when they get older. However, for garment workers, due to the specific work, the disease progression is faster, more severe and the incidence is also higher.

In order to help garment workers limit their illness, the business plays the most important role. However, according to the Provincial Confederation of Labor, occupational safety and sanitation in the garment industry are still limited. In particular, many businesses have not organized periodic training and health checks in accordance with regulations for employees. In many businesses, periodic health check-ups are still formalistic and coping with insufficient testing of harmful factors in the working environment. To save production costs, many business owners limit their investment in improving working conditions, making factories narrow, hot, and increasing the concentration of dust and noise. These are all indirect causes that adversely affect the employees' health.

Workers with new health have successfully completed their assigned jobs, promoted production and development. Therefore, businesses need to pay attention to protecting the health of workers and limit the number of people who get sick. The first is to well organize periodic health checks in accordance with regulations, help workers detect signs of disease early, and promptly take effective treatment measures. In addition, businesses need to improve the quality of shift meals; create a good working environment; reasonable resting regimes; moving sick workers to the right positions ...

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