[Vnbiz] Stop firms from abusing foreign trainee scheme

[Phan, Tai]

Stop firms from abusing foreign trainee scheme 
By Editorial Desk

The Daily Yomiuri
Publication Date: 06-12-2006  
 
 
 
 

The spate of recent criminal cases involving the government-run foreign trainee system shows that the scheme has been exploited by some foreigners to overstay their visas and by some Japanese sponsors to unlawfully employ them. 

The injustices committed under the system, which seeks to help trainees from developing nations acquire technical skills in Japan, cannot be overlooked. 

According to a Justice Ministry investigation, about 9,500 foreigners absconded during their on-the-job training at factories and other facilities over the 5-1/2 years to the first half of this year. 

Most of the absconding trainees have stayed in the country illegally. In some cases, they have turned to crime. The number of absconders who committed crimes during the first half of the year stood at 17, including one charged with murder and 13 accused of theft, according to the National Police Agency. The figure could swell if offenses committed by absconders but unknown to the NPA are included. 

The blame for cases involving groups of such absconders lies with host companies that have unlawfully forced such foreigners to work for extremely low wages and for too many hours. These firms tend to regard foreign trainees as a source of cheap labor that can be used to make up for their shortage of workers. 

In mid-November, three Chinese trainees at a sewing factory in Aomori Prefecture sought protection at a local labor standards inspection office. They could no longer endure being forced to work overtime for 370 yen per hour--a pittance. 

In August, a Chinese trainee at a pig farm in Chiba Prefecture stabbed to death an agricultural organization employee who had helped arrange for his training and also seriously injured two others. The trainee had been disgruntled with his low wages and other working conditions. 

80% of firms broke law 

According to an on-the-spot investigation conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry last year, 730 corporations sponsoring foreign trainees, or about 80 percent of the total, violated the Labor Standards Law and the Minimum Wages Law. The offenses committed by these companies included falsifying wage slips and sexually harassing trainees, including those who had signed quasi contracts with their sponsors after their initial training programs. 

All this has arisen from an attempt by companies to unrestrictedly increase the number of trainees they accept, hoping to meet their need for cheap labor. 

The foreign trainee system initially was designed to host foreigners employed by Japanese corporations overseas. In 1990, the system was reformed to enable small companies to accept foreign trainees through their industrial associations. In 1993, the system was modified to allow trainees to work at Japanese companies as interns for two years after receiving training there for up to one year. 

The number of trainees sought by companies is growing steadily. The recent economic recovery has also given rise to a call for a further increase in the number. 

The government has said it will decide how to overhaul the system under a three-year plan adopted in March to promote regulatory reform. 

Give trainees legal protection 

Corporations that sponsor foreign trainees are not subject to the Labor Standards Law because the visa status of the trainees in the initial stage of their programs is nonworking. It is necessary to revise the relevant legislation to bring the trainees--including those who have signed quasi contracts--under the protection of the law. 

The current system incorporates a provision that prohibits a company from accepting new trainees for three years if it engages in employment irregularities, including paying illegally low wages. However, the provision has done nothing to prevent such wrongdoing. Offenders must be more severely punished, for example, by imposing a fine on them. 

The Japan International Training Cooperation Organization--a state-backed foundation responsible for visiting factories and other facilities that host trainees--is no less open to question. JITCO directors are retirees from five government ministries, including the Justice Ministry and the health ministry. They have been extremely lax in supervising sponsor companies. In fact, the Liberal Democratic Party has called for reexamining JITCO's operational structure. 

Steps must be taken as early as possible to reform the system, which companies have exploited to use cheap foreign labor under the current legislative framework, which imposes restrictions on unskilled foreign workers in this country.