Japan Press Weekly

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2013 April 3 - 9 TOP3 [LABOR]

Bangladeshi ex-trainee sues for unpaid wages

A 24-year-old female former trainee, who came from Bangladesh under the state internship program, on April 3 filed a lawsuit over her unpaid wages with the Kyoto District Court.

Begum Rabeya is seeking 2.65 million yen in back pay based on the minimum hourly wage of 646 yen in Nagasaki Prefecture and 8.76 million yen in compensation.

She came to Japan in November 2011 and worked at a sewing factory in Nagasaki until July 2012. She was forced to work more than 400 hours a month with a monthly wage of only 10,000 yen. She produced T-shirts from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and had to do folding and packing tasks after punching out until midnight.

Before she left Bangladesh, the staffing agency there told her that her basic monthly income would be 107,000 yen and 200,000 yen including overtime pay. So, she asked her employer in Nagasaki to pay her the promised wage and was close to being forcefully sent back to her country.

At a press conference, Rabeya, who now lives in Kyoto, said in an anguished voice, “They never let me go to see a doctor if I came down with a severe headache or felt weak and sick from lack of sleep.”

Her lawyers said they are planning to challenge the employer’s violation of the Minimum Wages Act in court.

The Japanese government-initiated foreign trainee and technical internship program was established in 1993 with the aim of contributing to human resources development in other countries. The program, however, is often abused and relied on infringement of human rights and labor exploitation.


Related past articles:
> Chinese trainees win overall victory in ‘slave’ labor lawsuit [March 5, 2013]
> 8 Vietnamese trainees win back pay [February 16, 2012]
> Chinese trainees and interns seek payment of unpaid wages in court [December 1, 2010]
> Labor office acknowledges first foreign trainee’s death from overwork [July 3, 2010]
> Working conditions of foreign trainees will be improved [January 28, 2009]
> Zenroren holds a symposium on foreign trainees program [June 24, 2008]
> JCP in Diet urges government not to deport foreign trainees [March 28, 2008]
> JCP exposes Japanese firms for illegally using Vietnamese trainees [March 26, 2008]