Editorial
Time to review employment options that suit both companies and workers
One year ago, the New Year's Village for Temporary Workers, a project to help the many temporary workers laid off as a result of the global recession, entered Japan's social limelight. To some, it was a symbol of the stratified society created under the Liberal Democratic Party administration of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Now, under the administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, temporary work is facing new restrictions: At a Diet session this month the administration will present a bill to revise the temporary worker dispatch law.
Japan has two types of temporary work: registration-based employment in which an employment contract is formed only when the employee has work, and regular employment in which the worker receives a salary regardless of whether they have work or not.
Under the Hatoyama administration's proposed revisions, registration-based work will be banned in principle for all but 26 specialist fields. In addition, temporary work in the manufacturing sector will be restricted to regular employment, and the dispatch of day laborers will be banned outright. A provision will also be included to regard workers as having a direct contract with their employer if the employer acts illegally when handling the temporary worker's dispatch. The system will oblige companies that take on temporary workers to hire the workers directly if they so desire.
As of June 2008, there were about 2.02 million temporary workers in Japan. Excluding those who work in the 26 specialist fields, the number stands at about 1.02 million -- 440,000 of which have registration-based employment contracts. The number of temporary workers in the manufacturing industry, meanwhile, totals about 550,000. Of these, 200,000 are subject to registration-based employment.
Company managers have criticized the planned regulations, saying that if registration-based employment is banned, many people will end up losing their jobs. For small- and medium-sized companies experiencing a slow business recovery, there is not enough work to switch to a contract system. The companies say that introducing such regulations at a time when they have to prop up the economy is like pouring cold water on the situation.
At the same time, workers have their fair share of complaints. They point out that the duty of employers to comply with collective bargaining with labor unions, and the collective responsibility of employers in relation to unpaid wages has been omitted from the proposed regulations. They also point out that leaving the period for regular employment unspecified will result in registration-based employment masquerading as regular employment, and argue that the five-year grace period for implementing the measures is too long.
To address the chasm between the views of employers and the employed, the Diet needs to thoroughly debate the issue and dig up the problems relating to temporary work, starting from their roots. The concerns of company managers are understandable, but temporary work remains far too unstable, and the gap between temporary workers and full-fledged company employees is too large. Applying an employment valve that enables companies to mechanically cut off temporary workers to match their business performance eliminates all respect for workers as humans, not to mention the safety of their daily lives. The current reform measures must be viewed as no more than an initial step toward the improvement of temporary employment.
We hope that the proposal will produce the opportunity for a deeper level of discussion on employment as a whole -- the combined number of part-time and fixed-period workers, together with contract and special contract employees is double the number of temporary workers in Japan.
A survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare found that the top reasons for non-regular company employees working in their current positions were positive, such as the type of work and level of responsibility matching their preferences. At the same time, full-fledged employees are facing such problems as severe working conditions and mental health issues. It is a fact that there are many people who want a style of work that matches their lifestyle and sense of values.
With 3.5 million people fully out of work, now is the time to consider what style of employment is desirable for both companies and workers.
(Mainichi Japan) January 12, 2010