Yen depreciates, Nghe An workers working abroad for 3 years worry they won't have enough money to pay off debt

Nghe An workers working in Japan. Photo: Contributor

Yen plummets, workers struggle

Since the end of 2022, the yen has fallen in value, and Nghe An workers in Japan are facing many difficulties. Many people do not dare to exchange their salary to send back to their families because they are incurring a "heavy loss". Among them, many people choose to "keep their money" and wait for the yen to recover before exchanging it.

Having worked in Japan for nearly 2 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Trang in Van Son commune, Do Luong district, specializing in processing and packaging vegetables, tubers, and fruits in Aomori province (Japan) shared: Never before have Vietnamese workers faced such a difficult situation as they do now.

The cost of living is skyrocketing and expensive. Each month, food and living expenses cost about 55,000 yen, or more than 8 million VND. If you want to go to the supermarket, you have to wait for the products to be on sale before you dare to buy. Working in Japan, you can only send back 15-16 million VND a month; if you borrow money from the bank to go abroad to work, it may not be enough to recover the capital in 3 years.

According to Ms. Trang, her contract will expire in about a year and the company will notify her of an extension, but she plans to return home because if she works hard all day here, she will not be able to save enough money to send back home.

Nghe An workers work hard in Japan but their income is not commensurate due to the devaluation of the yen. Photo: Contributor

Mr. Nguyen Tuong, in Nghia Hoi commune, Nghia Dan district, who is working in the metal cutting field in Kagawa province (Japan), said: If we consider the cost of going to Japan to work compared to other markets, it is not much, including some types such as: health check, training, a little brokerage, records, visa, papers, airfare. The cost for each trip is about 6,000 - 8,000 USD. Not including the cost of food, accommodation, travel during the language learning, vocational training and waiting for a flight, it costs about 200 million VND.

The duration of a trip to Japan is 3 years. With the current income sent back, the entire period is only enough to pay off the debt, with no money left over. After the end of the 3-year labor contract, Mr. Tuong was not interested in renewing the contract and chose to return to work in his homeland.

Some workers in Japan shared: Those who have just arrived in Japan must also work hard to pay off their debts, but those who have been there for a long time, and are almost out of debt, must try to hold out for a while longer, waiting for the yen to rise again.

Vietnamese workers are not interested in the Japanese market.

Through research, it is known that recently, in Nghe An, there have been many workers whose contracts with Japanese enterprises have expired but have not renewed or converted their visas to continue working, but have chosen to return home, due to the record devaluation of the yen.

A simple meal of Nghe An workers in Japan. Photo: Contributor

A unit specializing in exporting labor to the Japanese market in Vinh City added: Currently, people who want to export labor to Japan are very concerned about the Yen exchange rate, because it affects their income. Workers at this time no longer favor the Japanese market and they compare it with the labor export markets of other countries with better income.

Currently, some localities in Nghe An tend to choose to work in Korea or countries such as Hungary, Australia, Germany, etc. because of higher salaries. Some workers follow unofficial channels to go to European markets.

For example, in Yen Thanh district, in recent years, the number of people going to Japan has decreased significantly, while the number of workers going to European countries is quite large. Mr. Luyen Xuan Hue - Chairman of Do Thanh Commune People's Committee shared: In 2023 alone, the whole Do Thanh commune only had 4-5 workers going to Japan, while there were 110 people going to work in European countries. At this time, the whole commune only had over 40 workers in Japan, while there were over 1,600 workers in European countries. Most workers in European countries have quite high incomes.

Nghe An workers specializing in metal cutting in Japan. Photo: Contributor

A representative of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Yen Thanh district said: Up to now, the whole district of Yen Thanh has over 2,500 workers in the Japanese market, each year only over 150 workers go to Japan, the number of people going to work in this market has decreased by 30-35% compared to previous years. Currently, the number of workers going to work in European countries is quite large, however, they do not go through legal channels so the district cannot manage them.

Ms. Dang Thi Phuong Thuy - Deputy Head of the Department of Labor, Employment and Occupational Safety, Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said: Recently, the demand for recruiting Vietnamese workers in Japan is quite large. However, in Nghe An, the number of people participating in labor export to Japan is decreasing, the reason is the depreciation of the yen.

Since the beginning of 2023, Nghe An has had 2,300 workers going to Japan. Currently, out of a total of 85,000 Nghe An workers in other countries, Japan has only over 20,000 workers, of which Taiwan has the most, with 32,000 workers, the remaining workers mainly go to European countries.

Recently, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has coordinated with the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to direct the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to strengthen inspection and review of employment service units, sending Vietnamese people to work abroad under contracts in the area. Currently, enterprises operating in the field of labor export in the province have proactively approached new labor markets, ensuring the rights and benefits of workers. Therefore, workers have many options to work in markets of countries with better incomes.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/dong-yen-mat-gia-lao-dong-nghe-an-di-xuat-khau-3-nam-lo-khong-du-tien-tra-no-post275187.html