First Workers Compensation Payout For Overseas Trainee Karoshi Death

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

[wuchan]

100 hours of overtime in one month = 65 hours a week. 11 hours a day on a six day schedule or 9 1/4 on a seven day week. That should not be enough to give someone a heart attack. There must have been other factors such as bad diet or alcohol abuse. Years ago I was a mover back home, during the summer rush 70+ hour weeks were the norm from June until October. My personal record was 137 hours in one week, I did manage to overlap a few moves but working was still over 100.

[Fullback]

It says over 100 hours and we don't know how much over that is. Also, the normal workday in this (slave labor) program may be 12 hours per day.

[IkemenTommy]

the man's family welcomed the decision but said it should have been made much earlier

When the exchange rate was much better in their favor.

and claimed this case was just the tip of the iceberg.

Next will be for all the eikaiwa ambulance chasers.

[Fullback]

The exchange rate was worse then, you idiot.

Everything you post is cynical, sarcastic bullshit. You know, the young guy died while caught in a slave-like environment that he likely felt he could not escape from. They are only trying to better their lives and the lives of their families.

Fuck off, asshole.

[IkemenTommy]

Waaah cry me a river, douche bag. Like I give a shit about you or the red snot you gave me, you worthless piece of shit eikaiwa-land sensei.

[Iraira]

[Fullback]

I didn't give you red snot. You're consistently wrong about everything.

[IparryU]

I didn't give you red snot. You're consistently wrong about everything.

LMFAO

dem fightin words IT!

[Fullback]

... you worthless piece of shit eikaiwa-land sensei.

You're wrong again, naturally.

But, you know what? There's nothing wrong with people teaching English. There's nothing evil about it; they hurt no one. If you want to insult someone, call them a politician or a banker.

[Samurai_Jerk]

There's nothing wrong with people teaching English.

As someone who taught English for many years I couldn't disagree with you more. It's a loser, dead-end job.

[IparryU]

[quote="Fullback"]You're wrong again, naturally.

But, you know what? There's nothing wrong with people teaching English. There's nothing evil about it]
whats wrong with bankers?

i would say that it is much more of an insult to call them an English teacher...

We all have our opinions though

[Samurai_Jerk]

We all have our opinions though

Ah, but having an opinion doesn't make it valid. Unless of course it's an opinion I hold.

[Fullback]

Maybe the job is dead end, but that doesn't make you a bad person for doing it. That's my point.

Oh, and thanks for all the green snot I'm getting!

[IparryU]

Maybe the job is dead end, but that doesn't make you a bad person for doing it. That's my point.

Oh, and thanks for all the green snot I'm getting!

i understand the politician bit... but why bankers?

you are getting that green snot cause you are pouncing on IT

[Mulboyne]

[Samurai_Jerk]

[Mulboyne]

How does that number of 27 compared to a regular population of working age people in similar jobs in Japan?

It's difficult to make direct comparisons because there is no equivalent local population doing those kinds of jobs. That's one reason the scheme exists. Also, I don't think trainees work so much in construction or sewage jobs, which have a high incidence of industrial accidents, sometimes fatal. They are mainly in factories and agriculture.

I do recall seeing a Mainichi piece last year (no link) suggesting that trainee risks were ten times what they ought to be but there didn't seem to be any hard data for that claim and I don't know if it was based on the number of recorded accidents.

[Samurai_Jerk]

It's difficult to make direct comparisons because there is no equivalent local population doing those kinds of jobs. That's one reason the scheme exists. Also, I don't think trainees work so much in construction or sewage jobs, which have a high incidence of industrial accidents, sometimes fatal. They are mainly in factories and agriculture.

I do recall seeing a Mainichi piece last year (no link) suggesting that trainee risks were ten times what they ought to be but there didn't seem to be any hard data for that claim and I don't know if it was based on the number of recorded accidents.

Understood. I have no doubt that these guys are treated like shit and overworked and I think it's outrageous that they weren't protected by basic labor law. However, I'm with wuchan in that the hours mentioned in the article don't seem to be enough to make a heathly young man drop dead and I wonder if there were some other issues like a congenital heart condition. Of course most people I know who work those kinds of hours are in white collar jobs which don't take the same kind of physical toll as labor does.

[Mike Oxlong]

I think "healthy" is the keyword there...many of these guys are probably living on Cup Noodle, shochu, and cigarettes.

[Ganma]

[quote="Fullback"]You're wrong again, naturally.

But, you know what? There's nothing wrong with people teaching English. There's nothing evil about it]
I agree. I worked as a banker before becoming an English teacher and it was a SHIT job. It's all a matter of perspective, right? So let's stop shitting on each others chosen line of work. Back home we call losers DOLE bludgers.

[wuchan]

Understood. I have no doubt that these guys are treated like shit and overworked and I think it's outrageous that they weren't protected by basic labor law. However, I'm with wuchan in that the hours mentioned in the article don't seem to be enough to make a heathly young man drop dead and I wonder if there were some other issues like a congenital heart condition. Of course most people I know who work those kinds of hours are in white collar jobs which don't take the same kind of physical toll as labor does.

Something does seem off. Furthering my point, the rush I described in my earlier post included an unspoken agreement between us and the company: asking for a day off sends you to the bottom of the list (unless you are hurt or qualify for FMLA). We would do 60+ days straight. A day off would be simple deliveries instead of full on moves. When there is a possibility of not doing well during the most important part of the year where you make 50% of your yearly earnings, you do what you need to do to stay at the top. This guy was only 31. Good questions would be: how much was he sending home?, what were his vices?, did he have a gambling problem? If he were making minimum wage, he would be earning enough money to afford to eat well enough to continue doing his job. Either he had a problem (drinking, drugs, gambling) or he was sending his money to someone. Yes it sucks that he was overworked and probably not paid overtime but something else HAD to be going on. In typical Japanese court fashion things were settled as easily as possible for the government, fuck the details.

[Mulboyne]

I'm unclear why anyone would want to question a Labour Board's finding that a foreign worker's death was directly related to his working conditions and warranted a compensation payout. Especially given the fact that Boards have proved extremely reluctant to reach such conclusions.

Do people perhaps think that if only someone had told Jiang to "man up" then he might still be alive?

[Samurai_Jerk]

I'm unclear why anyone would want to question a Labour Board's finding that a foreign worker's death was directly related to his working conditions and warranted a compensation payout. Especially given the fact that Boards have proved extremely reluctant to reach such conclusions.

Do people perhaps think that if only someone had told Jiang to "man up" then he might still be alive?

For me it's more a matter of curiosity than questioning the ruling. I think the decision is a good thing and whether or not the guy died only because of overwork or for some other health reason, I don't think companies should be allowed to treat people like that. I'm just curious why a 31 year old would drop dead from that workload. I guess it's like getting lung cancer from smoking. No guarantee but you can't deny it's a cause.