The Union Refuses to Pay the Airfare

This former technical intern trainee from Vietnam had completed his 5-year internship in January 2021, but due to COVID-19, he was unable to return home immediately and continued working at the same workplace (a factory in Aichi Prefecture). He booked his own flight home in April of the same year, and when he asked the union for payment of the airfare (120,000 JPY), the union replied, “We will pay partially for your airfare (50,000 JPY), which you should pick up at the sending organization after you return home.”

50,000 JPY was not enough to cover the fare. Additionally, his seniors had not received payment even five months after returning home.

Consult with OTIT

Do not forget to write the recipient’s name, date, your name and sign on your letter!

He wrote a letter in Vietnamese and Japanese with the help of a Japanese person and took it to the OTIT Nagoya office. Letters written in your native language is also accepted. He copied his residence card at a convenience store and wrote the letter on the blank space.

Summary of the Letter

I did a technical internship for 5 years at _____ Industries in _____ City until January 2021. After that, I continued working for the company as I could not return home immediately due to COVID-19.

The _____ Union is supposed to pay for my airfare back home, but there is a problem.

・The union says it will only pay 50,000 JPY.
・It also says to pick up the 50,000 JPY at the sending organization after I return to my home country.

I think this is strange. 50,000 JPY is not enough to cover the airfare, either.

Please kindly help to solve this problem.

OTIT Coached the Union

When I handed the letter to the receptionist at OTIT, the officer in charge listened to me and said he would contact the union. OTIT then coached this union, and the union agreed to pay all of the following expenses. I paid for the hotel for the quarantine myself.

• Transportation to Narita Airport
• Airfare from Narita to Da Nang (120,000 JPY)

OTIT (Organization for Technical Intern Training)

Problem #7: “Dismissal for Allowing Fiancée to Stay in Dormitory”

A technical intern trainee has allowed his fiancée to stay in his dorm room and was about to be sent back to his home country for violating the rules. Does he really have to return home?

Problem #9: Beware of Voluntary Resignation Documents!

There are many cases in technical intern training where the trainee is forced to quit against their will, but is asked to sign a document stating that they are resigning (returning home) at their own request. If you sign it, you will be at a disadvantage when changing your status of residence to change jobs. Let’s look at some examples of senior trainees.