The seminar was held in a hybrid form. The attendants are representatives of Vietnamese dispatching companies technical trainees are working in Japan. Representing the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, Deputy Director of Overseas Cooperation Office Kaneko Ryutaro stressed that the Ministry is working on new regulations for foreign trainee program. Still, its main goal is to make sure Vietnamese workers will return to their home country after the internship.

The Japanese officials also answered pressing questions about the working conditions of Vietnamese interns. According to a recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, up to 25% of Vietnamese respondents said that they were asked to quit when pregnant. The survey also shows that up to 70% of dispatching enterprises require interns to sign a commitment to return home if they become pregnant before coming to Japan and used legal reasons as an excuse.

Deputy Director of Overseas Cooperation Office Kaneko Ryutaro, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

Kaneko approves that Japanese law protects women from discrimination while pregnant. Therefore, the dispatching companies and management unions are not allowed to force pregnant trainees to return home.

If willing to continue their internship, pregnant trainees in Japan are fully guaranteed their benefits until the end of the contract. Trainees can take a leave of absence 6 weeks before the due date and a mandatory leave of 8 weeks after the birth. In case of applying for unpaid leave, the trainees will receive a maternity allowance (about 60% of the salary received on average) from the previously paid health insurance. After this period, the interns can resume work. In case the intern suspends work to return to Vietnam to give birth, it is possible to apply to continue the internship in Japan.

The Japanese official highly recommends foreign interns immediately contact the Organization for Technical Intern Training (OTIT) in case they are not guaranteed the benefits.

Speaking at the seminar, the Deputy Director of the Department of Overseas Labor said that Vietnam Pham Viet Huong is currently the leading country in terms of the total number of interns departing for Japan every year. However, interns must be aware of dishonest dispatching companies. According to the survey mentioned above, there is a large number of dispatching companies that neither comply with the law nor create favorable conditions for trainees.

For choosing the appropriate dispatching company, the interns are advised to:

First, only contact the dispatching company that was introduced by a state agency. The interns should visit a state agency's website to confirm the list of Government-recognized companies before contacting.

Second, consult the dispatching company to find previous trainees and study that trainees' internship progress. It is important to pay attention to what advantages or difficulties they have encountered and whether the company provided support for them.

Finally, carefully confirm if the recruitment advertisements on social networking sites are true. At the same time, find out relevant information, contract terms, fees.. and compare with other trainees before officially signing.

Deputy Director of the Department of Overseas Labor said that Vietnam Pham Viet Huong spoke at the event (Photo: Mai Anh).

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