2 Myanmar refugee families refuse to work as farmers in Chiba

ครอบครัวผู้ลี้ภัยจากประเทศพม่าที่ตั้งถิ่นฐานในประเทศญี่ปุ่นเมื่อปลายปีที่แล้ว มีปฏิกิริยาต่อต้านและเริ่มปฏิเสธที่จะทำงานเป็นแรงงานในฟาร์มที่เขตชิบะแล้ว สาเหตุเนื่องมาจากสภาพการทำงานที่ไม่เหมาะสม เช่น ชั่วโมงการทำงานในแต่ละวันที่มากเกินสมควร และ ค่าแรงที่ค่อนข้างต่ำ เป็นต้น

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Two Myanmar families, who came to Japan from Thailand last year under a U.N.-sponsored settlement program, have refused to work for a farm in Chiba Prefecture due to the working conditions, a member of a lawyers' group representing refugees said Monday.

 

The families, who settled in the prefecture in March, are looking for jobs in Tokyo after complaining about the long work hours from early morning and low wages paid by the agricultural corporation that runs the farm during the training period, Shogo Watanabe of the Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees said at a press conference.

 

They have refused to take the farming jobs as labor conditions have not improved despite their work boycott in July, Watanabe added.

 

The two families were among five families that arrived in Japan as the first batch of 90 refugees from Myanmar that the Japanese government plans to accept from the Mera camp in northwestern Thailand, near the border with Myanmar, over three years from 2010. The other three families have settled in Mie Prefecture.

 

All five families have been receiving orientation and language training since last October. Japan is the first Asian country to introduce the program.

 

The refugees fled Myanmar to escape the suppression of human rights by the Southeast Asian nation's government. The resettlement program is designed to help such refugees begin new lives in other countries.

 

The lawyers group said it has urged the Foreign Ministry to improve and sufficiently supervise the work-training programs for refugees.

 

Resource: The Mainichi Daily News, Japan, September 27, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110927p2g00m0dm006000c.html