Indonesian Careers; Nurses Start Training in Japan
Tokyo, Aug. 22 Kyodo - A total of 205 Indonesian caregivers and nurses arrived in Japan earlier this month, the first batch of recruits for jobs in Japan under a bilateral economic partnership agreement.
The group comprises 104 nurses and 101 caregivers, most of them in their 20s, with women accounting for more than 60 per cent.
They have concluded employment contracts with 98 institutions
including hospitals and nursing facilities in 34 of Japan's 47
prefectures and are set to begin working in January or February 2009
after undergoing six months' Japanese-language training. Under the bilateral accord that took effect July 1, Japan is
expected to accept 600 caregivers and 400 nurses from Indonesia in the
next two years. Officials of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare say
Japan faces a serious shortage of caregivers and nurses as the number of
Japanese requiring nursing care is likely to total 7.8 million in
fiscal 2025, a 1.7-fold increase from fiscal 2006. To cope, the ministry calculates that Japan will need an
additional 400,000 to 600,000 caregivers and nurses in 2014, which
suggests that the issue of their nationality will be a secondary
concern. Existing Japanese caregivers, who are already shorthanded, are
pinning their hopes on the arrival of their Indonesian counterparts. But
while some say it will be an opportunity to see if Japan is genuinely
prepared to accept foreign caregivers, others are concerned that their
arrival could reduce salaries that are already considered very low. There is no denying that some employers are looking to hire foreigners because they will cost less. Once they start work, the Indonesians will then be required to
pass national exams - within three years for caregivers, and four years
for nurses - failing which they will have to return home. Care facilities, which are shouldering the cost of the language
training, seem very interested in the economic partnership agreement as
they have spent money in an effort to recruit foreign staff. Not all
have been successful, however. One reason may be the question of remuneration. Sources
familiar with the negotiations said Tokyo and Jakarta ran into
difficulties in the EPA negotiations over pay for the Indonesians. There
was also a perception gap over the role of caregivers. From Indonesia's perspective, Japan is just one possible
destination for workers going abroad. It has been dispatching maids to
other countries but has almost no institutions to nurture caregivers. It is possible that Indonesian caregivers and nurses in Japan
may find the work they are required to do is not what they were
expecting. The Philippines preceded Indonesia in working out a nurse
dispatch agreement with Japan, but has yet to ratify the accord because
the country's nursing association opposed it, calling it discriminatory.
Many Filipino nurses are said to be eager to go to Canada and
elsewhere, but not necessarily to Japan. In order for the foreign nurse and caregiver system to take
root in Japan, efforts should be made to guarantee wages, which would
enable Indonesians and other foreigner caregivers to live in this
country. A wage guarantee will also help to ensure that Japanese
employees are properly looked after. There are other problems, including language, culture and
religion. For example, the documents that a caregiver hands over at the
end of a shift to the incoming caregiver can be difficult even for
long-term foreign residents to fathom. This lends weight to the argument that there should be a
comprehensive support system to tackle such issues, which should not be
the responsibility of managers of care facilities. According to some analysts, foreign nurses and caregivers may
end up staying for a fixed period only because of the constraints
imposed by the national exam requirement. In any case, they add, the
numbers involved in the scheme represent a tiny fraction of the number
required to solve the looming manpower shortage. But numbers aside, the nurses and caregivers represent a
valuable human resource and their presence is likely to influence the
nursing care situation in the future. It is to be hoped, therefore, that
a suitable system can be created that will enable them to make full use
of their talents in Japan, the nation where they have chosen to work. Originally published by Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0933 22 Aug 08. (c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved. Source : http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1530023/indonesian_carers_nurses_start_training_in_japan/
