5,600 foreigners losing jobs in half year: survey

Saturday 07th February, 08:00 AM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 24 Total Comments Show All

WMD at 08:33 PM JST - 7th February

What I don't get is why foreigners put up with companies like Interac's disgusting treatment of them. Presumably these young boys and girls have degrees. Why come to japan to be treated like this??
AlfGarnett at 08:37 PM JST - 7th February

Don't them Japanese have the same human rights for evreybody?

Surely they are campaigners to help improve things to make sure foreigner works and that aint exploited.
LIBERTAS at 05:42 AM JST - 8th February

Don't them Japanese have the same human rights for everybody? No, they don't. A report in the Japan Times in July of 2008 said they applied to Japanese humans only. Check: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20080715zg.html
shiuu at 09:29 AM JST - 8th February

This is terrible. Doesn't Japan know it owes these people a living?
Betting at 12:29 PM JST - 8th February

Shane is pretty much the same. Teachers can be at the schools as much as 45 hours a week, but the any time between classes is categorised by the company as non-work time so make sure that they don't have to pay insurance and health insurance benefits.

Can you imagine the uproar if regular Japanese companies decided to class smoke and coffee breaks, actually any time anyway from the desk as non-work time to evade health and insurance payments?
umbrella at 01:19 PM JST - 8th February

Betting It's shocking but I guess things will never change. The japanese government would never care to enforce the labor law as they are just mere foreigners and they obviously can't vote. And as for the foreigners themselves, I would imagine these kids are all in their early 20s and so thrilled to be in another country for a year that they put up with anything.
cleo at 01:28 PM JST - 8th February

as for the foreigners themselves, I would imagine these kids are all in their early 20s and so thrilled to be in another country for a year that they put up with anything.

I would imagine you're mistaken. The still-wet-behind-the-ears English teachers may be the more easily recognisable tip of the iceberg, but out os sight under the water (figuratively speaking) are very many more Asian workers in factories etc who are here to earn money, not to enjoy themselves for a year before they go home and get a job.
pointofview at 02:38 PM JST - 8th February

The only way that teachers are going to earn more cake and get benefits is if all of them decided not to work starting on a specific day. So basically a strike. That might get the attention of people but in the end I don`t think individually, teachers want to risk losing their jobs because if you cause a stink, you have very little labour protection in Japan. I mean these companies have been doing this for years and the officials ie. BOEs. government have hitherto done nothing.
umbrella at 03:39 PM JST - 8th February

Cleo Of course you're right. Most foreigners in japan are from Asian countries, not for a year's holiday but to work hard, if they haven't already been booted out of their jobs.

pointof view The foreigner in japan is totally powerless and can do nothing about labor laws being ignored. Only solution is not to come to japan in the first place isn't it??
Betting at 03:39 PM JST - 8th February

"And as for the foreigners themselves, I would imagine these kids are all in their early 20s and so thrilled to be in another country for a year that they put up with anything".

Umbrella, that is a very true statement. Many people come here to teach English for a year or two and they will accept sub-standard conditions as long as they can get that overseas experience (oh yeah, Japan is such a cool place, I gotta go).

Insurance and pension payment also have the effect of lowering your salary, so most of these people would rather not pay. So these people don't pay and don't make a fuss, which is good for them but stuff up everything for the people who do live here permanently and want to make a career out of teaching.

Until these teachers actually make a stand on this matter (i.e. take action to do something) things will never change. But as most of the teachers here (I won't speak about factory workers as I don't know anything about that subject) are here for sightseeing and the overseas experience, nothing will ever change.
pointofview at 06:34 PM JST - 8th February

umbrella,

That is true. However, why are companies breaking the law in the first place? Coming to Japan isnt breaking the law. Improper use of labour is. The crazy thing about this is that nonone gives a rats ass. If the thousands of teachers said "screw you" to their companies and demanded the benefits they are entitled and increases for doing good work things might change. But the willingness isnt there. It needs to be an arranged protest on a specific day and time and all must be involved. I think the wages will continue to drop because 150-200000 yen/month is fantastic money for a Filipino or Indian but not an American, Australian, Canadian etc. In the future, perhaps we`ll see fewer native speakers teaching for this very reason.
whitepocky at 01:23 PM JST - 9th February

To be fair to the eikaiwa schools, when I worked there a few years back, I was put onto the health system voluntarily along with a few others who had families. For a brief period my hours remained at 34.5hrs a week before coming into line with all the other teachers at 29.5hrs. Those of whom had insurance cover provided by the company.

In all honesty though, the ALT position is ideally suited for a stop gap year to provide experience as well as a relatively good wage before moving onto further lands of travel.
ultradodgy at 03:18 PM JST - 10th February

"nonregular" japanese??

Isn't that the entire country?
tmarie at 03:21 PM JST - 12th February

Most eikaiwa teachers put up with it because they aren't actually qualified to get a job that does pay decently and gives benefits. If folks knew what they were doing, they could charge more and demand more. But they don't. If I were to run a school I would think long and hard about who I hired. Great teachers with great backgrounds, qualifications - costs more. Cheaper labour who will probably leave within a year - much cheaper. If you wanted a serious school you woudl go with the first option. If you were a crappy eikaiwa, like most are, I would go with the second.

These eikaiwa folks really don't deserve more in pay and benefits. They can certainly get private insurance and health care if they want - though many don't bother.
Castella at 12:22 PM JST - 18th February

Agree with your first point, tmarie. Most English language teachers are not qualified to teach English - just check their resumes. Being a native speaker doesn't qualify a person to teach that particular language. So many of them rush into the classroom unprepared and simply wing it, or employ overused games to "motivate" their students. If they did that in the U.S., they'd be out of a job in no time.

Looks like the gravy train in Japan is about to come to a screeching halt.