With the risks of occupational accidents and diseases constantly lingering, upgrading skills and safety awareness is identified as the core solution to prevent risks and guarantee sustainable production.

The entire province hosts more than 1,670 enterprises and 375 cooperatives, providing employment for nearly 30,000 workers. Along with the expansion of production and business activities, the requirements for OSH assurance have become increasingly demanding. Recently, dissemination, training, and inspection work have been synchronously strengthened by employers, contributing to raising awareness among the workers themselves. However, infractions regarding operational procedures and a lack of risk-identification skills still persist at some units, harboring latent risks of occupational accidents and explosions.

The current imperative is to shift decisively from a “troubleshooting” mindset to one of “proactive prevention.” This goal requires workers to clearly understand legal regulations, master practical skills, identify hazards, and self-assess risks right within their workspaces. This is also the core message emphasized during Điện Biên province’s 2026 Action Month on OSH.

At the Điện Biên Power Company, upgrading occupational safety skills is deployed methodically and closely linked to production activities. In response to the 2026 Action Month on OSH, the unit has stepped up dissemination to raise awareness among employees. Training activities are organized directly on-site, helping workers identify and assess risks in each specific task. New safety measures have allowed teams to systematically evaluate their environments. Alongside this, strengthening inspections and supervision at production positions and for equipment with strict safety requirements has enabled the timely detection and rectification of hidden dangers, minimizing labor risks.

Maximizing their role in representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers, trade unions at all levels have actively coordinated with authorities, peer professional bodies, and employers to boost the dissemination and dissemination of OSH laws. Concurrently, they have enhanced skills training, raised awareness for union members and workers, and maximized the operational efficiency of the grassroots-level safety responder network.

“The team of safety responders has truly become the core force in supervising, reminding, and detecting occupational safety hazards,” stated Tấn Minh Long, Chairman of the provincial Labor Federation. “They actively disseminate and mobilize union members and workers to perform well in OSH, firefighting, prevention, rescue, and salvage operations, contributing to limiting occupational accidents and diseases while building a ‘Safety Culture’ and a ‘Culture of preventing occupational accidents and diseases’ at the workplace.”

According to the representative of the provincial Labor Federation, among the related tasks, organizing OSH competitions is regarded as a practical solution to upgrade skills and create a useful playground for workers. The 2026 Excellent Safety Responder Competition attracted 10 competing teams from the trade unions of various agencies, units, and employing enterprises across the province.

Trịnh Đình Thắng, representing the Joint Grassroots-level Trade Union Team of Tuần Giáo commune, shared that the practical performance part left a deep impression by simulating a house fire scenario with locked doors. Contestants had to execute all troubleshooting steps fully, ranging from clearing obstacles, activating the fire alarm, and using firefighting equipment to control the blaze, to rescuing victims and moving assets out of the danger zone. Participants were able to hone their situational handling skills and upgrade their response capacity for real-world incidents.

“When facing an incident under time pressure, each member must possess physical strength, proficient skills in using fire extinguishers, a steadfast spirit, and smooth coordination,” Thắng added. “Through this training exercise, every safety responder has upgraded their knowledge and skills in handling OSH, firefighting, rescue, and salvage situations, alongside their sense of strict compliance with legal regulations on OSH.”

To bring occupational safety skills into substance, a more drastic and synchronous involvement from all echelons, sectors, and enterprises is highly required. In particular, the heads of agencies and units must bear direct responsibility for ensuring occupational safety, building a safe and disciplined working environment. In addition, the application of digital technology in training, monitoring, and risk warning needs to be accelerated to upgrade the efficiency of occupational accident prevention.