Golden year for Vietnamese guest workers to Japan  In 10 months leading up to November, Vietnam had sent almost 16,300 workers to Japan and this is the first year Vietnam broke its record of sending 15,000 guest workers to the country annually. A large offer of contracts According to the Vietnam Labour Export Association (VLEA), in the 10 month period, 50 businesses involved in the process and each of them had sent more than 200 workers to Japan. Nhat Hy Khang Company’s managers reveal that they find favourable condition to sign labour export contracts with Japanese partners and expect to dispatch around 300 workers to the market this year. More than 200 workers have gone to work in Japan under a contract signed by Tracimexco with Japanese labour association. Vu Thanh, Vice Director of the Tracimexco Training and Labour Export Centre, says the company has set up relations with around 20 Japanese labour associations to supply labour forces. It implements around 10 contracts monthly. Esuhai Ltd Company is a top supplier of guest workers to Japan. Since early this year, more than 700 workers of this company have passed the recruitment test to work in Japan, 400 of them have already arrived in the country. Le Long Son, Esuhai General Director says the company has set up relations with 50 Japanese small and medium-sized business associations to supply workers for more than 300 factories and workshops. The implementation of labour export contracts with Japan is like a locomotive gaining momentum in coming months. On October 31, the Department of Overseas Labor Management (Dolab) approved a list of contracts under which businesses are able to send workers to the country. Worthy of note are 50 contracts signed by Esuhai, Halasuco, Vitourco, Vilexim, Viet Thang, Tradeco and Tracodi. Under each contract, 40-50 workers will be sent to work in Japan. Act with caution to avoid risks Experts say 2014 is a golden year for Vietnam to export workers to Japan. This can be attributed to changes in Japan’s employment of guest workers. Before 2012, Chinese guest workers accounted for 80% of Japan’s labour market while Vietnam made up only 10%. However, since 2013 the number of Chinese guest workers in Japan has dipped sharply. Japanese employers began seeking supplies from Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, pushing the demand for Vietnamese workers up 50% in 2014 compared to 2013. In addition, Japan is gearing up sports projects for Summer Olympics 2020 which has rocketed the demand for Vietnamese construction workers in recent months. Vu Thanh says many Japanese labour associations have come to Vietnam to seek for construction workers. However, Vietnamese businesses should be cautious before signing a labour contract to ensure workers’ rights and avoid risks. Vietnam expects to send around 1,700 workers to Japan in the fourth quarter of this year. If the trend is kept the number of guest workers in the market will surpass 21,000 this year. VOV