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Politicians should not turn deaf ear to desperate cries of unemployed
An unemployment crisis is blowing violently through the Japanese archipelago. Many temporary workers have lost their jobs, their contracts suddenly terminated. Worse still, many have been thrown out into the cold with no place to live. The alarming scramble for personnel cuts by automakers and other large corporations who in the past had been Japanese…
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Communist leader urges Japan PM to protect part-timers, smaller businesses amid economic slowdown
The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) leader has urged Prime Minister Taro Aso to take emergency measures to protect the employment of non-regular workers and smaller businesses amid the economic slowdown. It is extremely rare for the JCP leader to meet exclusively with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) head. In the meeting on Friday, JCP…
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Bill outlawing daily dispatch of temps OK’d
A bill to effectively ban staff agencies from dispatching workers on a daily basis was approved by the government Tuesday, boosting the protection of temporary workers. The amendment to the worker dispatch law would bar staffing agencies from dispatching registered workers for day work or less than 30 days’ employment. But people in 18 professional…
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Steps eyed for temps’ plight
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry may submit a bill to the Diet this fall that will urge, but not require, temp staffing agencies to pursue regular employment for the workers they dispatch in a bid to bring more stability to the lives of the underpaid. Although experts welcome such an overture, they believe the…
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Foreign contract workers to sue Kubota over status
About 10 foreign contract employees of major machinery manufacturer Kubota Corp. have decided to file a group lawsuit against the company claiming their employment status is unjustifiable and the company should continue to employ them after their contract expires next April, it has been learned. In February 2006, the Osaka-based firm was warned that factory…
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Panel pushes new temp work rules
To better protect temporary workers, staffing firms should be banned from dispatching registered workers for day work or employment periods of 30 days or less, a subcommittee of the Labor Policy Council advised the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on Wednesday. The panel also said the government should be allowed to recommend companies to directly…
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Japan’s Shrinking Workforce Spurs Shift to Full-Time Employees
Masahiko Tanabe’s life has changed since Japanese homeware retailer The Loft Co. made him a permanent employee and gave him a 10 percent raise. “This is kind of a luxury to me,” said the former temporary shop assistant. “I used to buy fish for dinner; now I buy meat.” As aging employees retire, Japan’s labor…
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Japanese discontent voiced in novel sales
“We?re going to hell!,” shouts a Japanese fisherman as he boards a factory ship bound for freezing waters off Russia. The sailor and his comrades ? a mix of sea-hardened veterans, university students and poor farm boys ? are beaten and exploited by sadistic foremen and greedy bosses. When they form a union and strike,…
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Surge in number of temp workers involved in work-related accidents
The number of temporary workers dispatched by employment agencies who were involved in work-related accidents increased nine-fold over a three-year period, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said. The finding demonstrates that temporary workers engage in dangerous labor without receiving adequate safety guidance, which will likely have an influence on discussions on amendments to the…
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Goodwill ceases operations; union stages protest
Scandal-ridden temp staff agency Goodwill Inc. closed its doors for good Thursday, leaving at least 900 registered workers unable to find new jobs and a union grumbling about unpaid wages and other problems. According to Goodwill officials, about 1,600 temp workers out of the approximately 6,000 registered with the agency in late June have been…