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Foreigners win ¥17 million for trainee abuses
The Kumamoto District Court awarded more than ¥17 million in damages Friday to four Chinese interns who were forced to work long hours for low wages in Kumamoto Prefecture. The court ordered that the union Plaspa Apparel, which arranged the trainee work for the four, to pay ¥4.4 million and that the actual employer, a…
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McDonald’s told to pay overtime to manager
The Tokyo District Court ordered McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan) Ltd. Monday to pay ¥7.55 million in overtime allowance and “additional pay” to a manager at one of its outlets. Presiding Judge Iwao Saito ruled that Hiroshi Takano, 46, who manages a McDonald’s outlet in Saitama Prefecture, does not qualify as a manager under the Labor…
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34 foreign trainees in Japan died in FY 2008 of suspected overwork
Thirty-four foreign trainees died in Japan in fiscal 2008 through March this year, up 13 from the previous year to hit a record high, a survey by a government-linked body promoting a training program showed Monday. The leading causes of their deaths were brain and heart diseases, which claimed the lives of 16, while five…
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Keidanren Tells Japan’s Salarymen to Work Less, Have More Kids
Keidanren, Japan’s biggest business organization, is worried the nation’s workers aren’t having enough sex. The group urged its 1,632 member companies to start so- called family weeks that give employees more time for playing with the kids and having more children to reverse a declining birth rate. A survey by Japan’s Family Planning Association of…
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Convenience stores, chain restaurants warned about unpaid overtime
Over 80 percent of managers at convenience stores and chain restaurants that had labor problems in the past are forced to work long hours without corresponding overtime pay, a government survey has found. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which conducted the survey, has issued a warning to convenience stores and chain restaurants to…
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Standards set for ‘name-only’ store managers
The labor ministry on Tuesday signaled its intention to scrutinize companies that appoint workers as store managers to avoid paying overtime, while giving them little or no managerial authority. The practice is especially widespread in the restaurant and retail sectors where many so-called managers are required to work long hours. The Ministry of Health, Labor…
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Japanese only take average of 8 days paid vacation a year
According to the questionnaire conducted in Japan as well as in eight countries in Europe and North America, the Japanese only took an annual average of eight paid holidays — smaller than any other country questioned. France topped the list with 34 days, followed by Italy and Spain with 27 paid days off annually. Among…
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Taking time off not so easy
“The disparity in how much time workers can take off or how much money they can spend for leisure has been widening. As for leisure time, the amount of overtime hours has been increasing among permanent employees, while the mass retirement of baby boomers also had an impact,” said Hisaya Yanagita, a senior researcher at…
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Labor must together fight ‘name-only’ ploys
“Eliminate long work hours! Store managers in name only deserve dignity.” Such calls were heard loud and clear at a recent rally in Tokyo attended by more than 200 people. In fact, there was such a large turnout, there weren’t enough seats for everyone. Branch managers of outlets of chain stores such as McDonald’s Co.…
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McDonald’s to pay managers overtime
McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan) said Tuesday it will introduce a system Aug. 1 to provide overtime pay to some 2,000 outlet managers and area market developers across the country who have not been getting paid for extra work hours. The move comes after the Tokyo District Court ruled in January that the fast-food chain should…