Language skills remain major concern for foreign nursing care workers

TOKYO - While a new visa system approved by the Diet and to take effect in April has been welcomed by Japan's labor-short nursing care businesses, questions remain about how to provide sufficient Japanese language education for foreign workers.

Despite the government's steps taken in recent years to relax rules on foreign workers in the sector, language skills have been a major barrier.

Vu Thi Thu Trang from Vietnam is among the people who could obtain working status after the government eased the requirement for foreigners to work as caregivers.

The 31-year-old certified caregiver, who came to Japan in 2014, said she first found out about nursing care work while studying at a Japanese language school. She then entered a caregiver vocational school and finished a two-year curriculum earlier this year.

"I'm happy when people say 'thank you' to me. It makes me realize I'm doing something good," said Trang, who has been working in Tokyo since June.

Foreign students who became certified caregivers like Trang were not eligible to remain in Japan for work until a legal amendment in September last year.

Still, the relaxed rule did little to address the labor shortage for nursing facilities. As of June this year, only 177 foreigners were working in the country's nursing care industry after earning caregiver certification.

There are currently two other ways for foreigners to work as caregivers in Japan. The first is to participate in a work program provided under economic partnership agreements and gain a certificate while working at a nursing home. The other is using Japan's technical intern program.

However, a high Japanese-language competency requirement prevented either of the programs from significantly increasing the number of certified caregivers.

Those who passed a national exam to become a certified caregiver during their stay under the EPA program totaled 719 since between fiscal 2008 and 2017. After nursing care was added to the list of occupations for the technical intern program in November last year, only 247 trainees came to Japan.

By providing the new status from April, the government has said it expects to accept 5,000 foreign workers in the nursing sector the first year and up to 60,000 over five years.

Between the two new resident statuses created under the new visa system, the first type, valid for up to five years, is for people to engage in work that requires a certain level of knowledge including nursing care, and the second type for work that needs higher-level skills.

Applicants for the new working status will be required to pass Japanese-language and technical exams. Those who wish to work as caregivers will need skills equivalent to those of people who have received three years of training.

"I wonder if there are foreigners who meet such requirements," one nursing home official said.

Trang said Vietnamese who are looking to work abroad may not necessarily be attracted to the jobs being made available in Japan.

"In Vietnam, jobs in the automobile and computer industries are popular. There are many people who say they will choose South Korea or Taiwan," Trang said.

==Kyodo

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Consultation ongoing for Live-in Caregiver Program in Canada

TORONTO - The federal government is currently doing the rounds to seek inputs from stakeholders in its ongoing review of the Live-in Caregiver Program or LCP.

Balitang Canada sources confirmed these consultations with some members of the Filipino community in key cities like Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

In these meetings, kababayans reiterated their call for landed permanent resident status for caregivers.

"Nakikita naming na ito ay mahalagang recommendation para ma-address ang vulnerability ng mga caregivers," said Christopher Sorio, vice chairman of Migrante Canada.

This amid speculation that the pathway to permanent residency status might be removed from the LCP.

"Nakakatakot sa community yung ganito kasi unang-una kaya tayo pumupunta sa Canada ay para dalhin ang ating mga kapamilya para magkaroon ng magandang kinabukasan," said former caregiver, Pinky Paglingayen.

With these concerns, Pinoys in Ontario have been meeting to craft recommendations to government as consultations continue.

Some caregivers also do not want the live-in requirement as the situation is prone to abuse. Instead, what they want are opportunities to upgrade their skills, so that they can move on and contribute more to the Canadian economy.

"Ang sabi ng ministro sa atin baka end of August i-meet tayo at magkakaroon ng second round of consultations at kukunin niya lahat ng recommendations sa iba't-ibang lugar. Ang next steps para sa atin kailangan pag-igihin natin, pagbutihan natin ang ating recommendation so that yung magiging reporma ay galing sa atin," said Julius Tiangson, executive director, Gateway Center for New Canadians.

The LCP is the only program with a pathway to permanent residency among the streams in the temporary foreign workers program.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

New policy in Canada fast-tracks processing of work permits for caregivers

Canada has shortened the procedures needed for foreign caregivers to obtain permanent resident status and has enacted several measures to protect the caregivers from abusive employers.

Canadian Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney said this was the Canadian government’s response to reports of abuse to foreign caregivers by their employers.

He said it is “frustrating” that many live-in caregivers have to stay in their employer’s home even though they have already completed their work obligations because they are waiting for their application for permanent residence to be reviewed. He said in several cases, this set-up had resulted to maltreatment of workers.

“This is understandably frustrating,” Kenney said. “That's why we have started issuing open work permits to live-in caregivers as soon as they have completed their obligations and submitted an application for permanent residence.”

Under the new procedure, a foreign caregiver can obtain permanent resident status in 18 months or less. They can apply for permanent residence after 3,900 work hours, rather than two years of work, to ensure overtime is appropriately recognized.

The need for second medical examination when the caregiver applies for permanent residence has likewise been eliminated in the new guidelines. Also, a standardized employment contract has been adopted so that both the employer and the caregiver agree to the salary, hours of work, vacation time, overtime, holidays, sick leave, and the terms of termination and resignation.

The new policy also defines the costs the employer is obliged to pay, including the caregiver's travel expenses in coming to Canada, medical insurance, workplace safety insurance, and third-party representative fees. It also provides for emergency processing of work permits and employer authorizations to hire live-in caregivers who have been abused and need to leave their employment immediately while a dedicated phone service for live-in caregivers has been set up.

To assess the legitimacy of a job offer, Canadian authorities would verify if caregivers would be residing in a private residence and providing child care, senior home support care or care of a disabled person in that household without supervision, as well as whether the employer has sufficient financial resources to pay the wages of the caregiver and whether the accommodations being provided are adequate.

For employers who have failed to live up to the terms of past job contracts, they will be banned from hiring foreign workers, including live-in caregivers, for two years.

Philippine Ambassador to Canada Leslie Gatan said the revised labor policies for caregivers demonstrates “the continued trust and confidence of the Canadian society on the skills and dedication to work of Filipinos in general.”

Government estimates Filipino caregivers in Canada to be more than 100,000, some of them have complained of labor abuse from their employers ranging from non-payment of salaries to physical maltreatment.

Kenney said the Canadian government has taken action to protect live-in caregivers from exploitation with regulatory improvements implemented under its Live-in Caregiver Program in 2010 and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in 2011. — KBK, GMA News

source:gmanetwork.com