Functions of Labour Welfare Wing

The Labour Welfare Wing undertakes activities facilitating employment for Bangladeshi nationals and promoting the welfare of expatriates in Japan. This is in line with the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act 2013, Expatriates` Welfare and Overseas Employment Policies 2016 and Wage Earners’ Welfare Board Act 2018.

Main Functions

• Make efforts for employment of Bangladeshi manpower through promotion of relations with the Government and other authorities of the related country;
• Work for welfare and protection of the interests of emigrants and provide aid to stranded workers for repatriation and visit the workplace and hospital and detention centers, if needed;
• Provide assistance to the emigrants in respect of employment conditions, accommodation, treatment and other facilities, and to provide legal aid, if necessary;
• Examine the demand of the employment collected by recruiting agents/sending organizations/ other organizations and to inform the Government and the recruiting agent of its informative comments;
• Efforts to mitigate problems of non-payment of salary and other benefits through Labour Courts and other related offices by providing legal aid assistance to the people working;
• Assist in burial/sending of the dead body of Bangladeshi workers;
• Submit reports to the government, from time to time, as regarding trends in labour market and welfare of workers; and
• Arrange promotional programmes, seminars, workshops, discussions, and meeting.

Employment Opportunities

A quarter of the population of Japan is over 65 years of their age and this trend has caused increasing challenges to the workforce deficit in the areas of construction, agriculture, manufacturing, food processing, textile, fishery, care giving and nursing etc. The situation has been exacerbated by the decreasing low birth rate. In this situation, the Japanese government introduced a Technical Training Intern Program (TITP) in 1993. Furthermore, Japan Parliament passed an act on 08 December 2018 that will create a new foreign workers program to address labour shortage, opening the country’s doors to blue color labourers in a major policy shift.

A) Technical Interns

Currently, there are 367,709 (as of June 2019) foreign trainees in Japan mostly from ASEAN counties and China in the areas of construction, manufacturing, garments, agriculture etc. Bangladesh signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with Japan on recruitment of technical interns by Japan from Bangladesh on 29 January 2018 in Tokyo. Japan invites technical intern in the list of 8 fields (Agriculture, Fishery, Construction, Food Manufacturing, Textile, Machine and Metals and Others) which have 74 occupations and 139 selective works for 3-5 years. The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has approved 27 sending organizations of Bangladesh to facilitate for sending technical interns such as collecting demand letter, preparing and selecting technical interns as per employer’s requirement etc. from Bangladesh to Japan(List of sending organizations)

B) Requirements for Demand Letter attestation

• Duly notarized Demand Letter with the attestation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan (For the first time);
• Duly notarized power of attorney from supervising organization (For the first time);
• Demand letters should specifically indicate the terms and conditions of the employment: number of workers, name of the implementing organization, period of recruitment, job specification, period of contact, age, basic salary, working hours and days, over time, accommodation and transportation, food, medical benefits, arrangement for air ticket- dated and signed by the head of the Supervising Organization;
• Demand letters must have valid contact address, telephone no, fax no and email address so that the Labour Wing can contact them from time to time.
• Copy of the agreement signed between sending organization and supervising organization;
• Attestation Fee ¥ 600 will be received only through Bank and no money will be received in cash. Bank Information:

Name of Account: Welfare Fund for Bangladeshi Wage Earners in Japan Type of Account: Mitubishi Tokyo UFJ GINKO SAVINGS ACCOUNT Branch Code : 104, Account No. : 0746699

C) Recruitment of Specified Skilled Workers

Under the new law, Japan will recruit 345,150 foreign skilled workers in the 14 sectors over the next 5 years as specified skilled worker ( specified skilled workers I and specified skilled worker II), but a good number of that intake will be from existing technical interns (TI) who will complete three-year terms in Japan without language and skill test. Besides, foreign students who will complete the language course get chance to apply for specified skilled worker after passing the specified language and skill test.

Requirements to be selected as Specified Skilled Workers

• Required to pass Japanese language proficiency test and skill test arranged by the concerned ministries of Japan. The Japan Foundation Japanese Basic Test (The Japan Foundation) or Japanese Language Proficiency Test (N4 or higher) (The Japan Foundation/ Japan Educational Services and Exchanges)
• Foreign nationals who will successfully complete “Technical Intern Training (ii)” (total 3 years) are exempted from having to take tests (skills and Japanese language)

There are also scopes to enter in Japan as Professors, Researchers, Engineers, Specialized in Humanities, International Service, Business Manager, Foreign Cuisine Chef etc. Every year a small number of Bangladeshi entered in Japan in the above-mentioned professions. Furthermore, Japan government has also started a scoring system to encourage highly skilled professionals to enter in Japan.

Welfare Activities

• Work for welfare and protection of the interests of emigrants and provide aid to stranded workers for repatriation;
• Provide assistance to the emigrants in respect of employment conditions, accommodation, treatment and other facilities, and to provide legal aid, if necessary;
• Efforts to mitigate problems of non-payment of salary and other benefits through Labour Courts and other related offices by providing legal aid assistance to the people working;
• Assist for Sending dead body of Bangladeshi workers to Bangladesh
• Provide assistance to the detained Bangladesh nationals by following rules.

A) Membership Registration of Wage Earners Welfare Board

Any Bangladeshi nationals who are living in abroad has a scope to be a member of Wage Earners’ Welfare Board for getting benefits provided by Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (Leaflet)

The process to be a member of Wage Earners’ Welfare Board

• File up the application form through online from the website of Wage Earners’ Welfare Board(http://www.wewb.gov.bd/);
• Upload the copy of i) passport size photo and ii) visa/resident permit card iii) copy of passport with the filled application form;
• Submit the application form along with two copy of photos, documents and receipt of the deposited amount Yen 5,000(Yen five thousand) to the Labour Wing of the Embassy;

(Account Name: WELFARE FUND FOR BANGLADESHI WAGE EARNERS IN JAPAN

Bank Name: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ

Branch: Meguroekimae, Account Number: 0746699)

Probashbondhu Call Centers

Bangladeshi expatriates living in abroad can communicate with Wage Earners` Welfare Board (WEBW) for welfare related activities/services by Hotline, fb, Imo,Viber.

Remittance

• Encourage to send remittance in legal way
• Assist to arrange remittance agreement between the financial institute/banks of Bangladesh and Japan
• Encourage to purchase bond/investment
• Encourage to apply for the selection of CIP to Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment and Internal Resources Division

Approved Sending Organizations and other related links

• List of Approved Sending Organizations
• Ministry of Expatriates` Welfare and Overseas Employment: www.probashi.gov.bd
• Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training: www.bmet.gov.bd
• Wage Earners` Welfare Board(WEWB】： www.wewb.gov.bd
• Japan International Training Cooperation JITCO: jitco.or.jp
• CIP Selection Policy: Advertisement for submitting Application
• Scholarship for Children of Expatriates: Advertisement for submitting Application

Contact Person:

Md. Zoynal Abedin
First Secretary (Labour)
Embassy of Bangladesh
3-29 Kioicho, Chiyoda ku
Tokyo, Japan
E-mail: fslabor@mofa.gov.bd
Tel: 03-3234-5801 (Ext. 201)
Fax: 03-3234-5802