The Japan Labor Flash
No.17
Email Journal June 15, 2004
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
Consultation cases related to individual labor disputes shows sharp
yearly increase …etc
Public Policies
Part-time employees to be paid extra for overtime work, including
those working less than 40 hours per week …etc
News Clippings
HP Japan to raise the share of female executives in a few years …etc
Special Issue
Summer bonuses to increase year-on-year for the second straight year
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports May 2004-
Features
Report on Employment Service (April)
Family Income and Expenditure Survey (April) …etc
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/estatis/esaikin/2004/e2004-05.htm
Current Topics
-Consultation cases related to individual labor disputes shows sharp
yearly increase-
Following the enactment in October 2001 of the Law for Promoting
the Resolution of Individual Labor Disputes, which promotes the swift
resolution of labor disputes between workers and enterprise owners,
prefectural labor bureau directors have been providing information and
consultation services aimed at the preemptive prevention of individual
conflicts as well as advice and guidance in the settling of disputes.
The Dispute Adjustments Committee also offers mediation and other
services.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2004/no.17/labordispute.htm
Public Policies
-Part-time employees to be paid extra for overtime work, including
those working less than 40 hours per week-
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's Conference to Study
the Harmonization of Work and Daily Life disclosed the draft of a
report to be released at the end of June, which discusses issues
related to overtime work by part-time, temporary, and other employees
who work short hours. Its proposals include mandating companies to
(1) pay extra wages to employees who work in excess of scheduled working
hours, even if the total number of hours is within the legally stipulated
number of working hours, and (2) set overtime pay at rates higher than
that of regular workers.
Under the existing law, overtime pay is restricted to cases where
the number of working hours per week exceeds the legally regulated
maximum of 40 hours. The law therefore does not apply to many workers
with short "scheduled working hours," such as part-time employees.
A survey conducted by the Ministry in 2001 showed that 22% of part-time
and other employees who work short hours worked overtime for an average
of 8.9 hours per week.
The proposed program aims to rectify the difference in wages and
other working conditions between regular and part-time employees and
to prevent haphazard increases in overtime work, to thereby enable
a better balance between work and everyday life and encourage a
diversification in styles of work.
The draft will be deliberated at a Council meeting attended by labor
and management representatives. The Ministry aims for enactment of the
bill at the January 2005 regular session of the Diet, with implementation
in FY2006.
-The rate of mentally disabled workers to be legislated-
To encourage the hiring of mentally disabled individuals, the
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has decided on a policy to
revise the current Law for the Promotion of Employment of the Disabled.
The proposed revision will for the first time include mentally disabled
individuals in calculations of the legally stipulated rate for the
employment of disabled workers. The bill will be submitted to the 2005
regular session of the Diet for deliberation.
Mentally disabled individuals have been excluded from legally
stipulated rates due to perceived difficulties in personnel management
arising from the employment of such individuals, many of whom are
unable to work for long periods of time.
Because some individuals are unable to work eight hours per day
depending on the condition of their illness, exceptional measures are
also being considered such as allowing individuals who work for shorter
periods to be included in the calculations.
Over the past few years, many companies have continuously failed
to meet the legally stipulated rate for the employment of disabled
workers, set at 1.8%. The Ministry is therefore stepping up its
guidance activities.
News Clippings
-HP Japan to raise the share of female executives in a few years-
Hewlett-Packard Development Company (HP Japan) will raise its share
of female executives from the current 3% or so to approximately 10%
over the next few years. This is in response to a policy announced by
Carly Fiorina, chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company of the US,
who urged its group companies to actively hire and promote more women.
By early June, the Japanese company plans to launch a project team that
will aim to increase female executives. The team will create, as soon
as possible, a working environment that allows women to take as active
a role in corporate affairs as their US counterparts.
About 800 women work in HP Japan, accounting for approximately 14%
of the total workforce. However, only about 3% of these women hold
executive posts of section manager or above, a low level according
to HP Japan officials although higher than the average proportion of
female executives at major domestic corporations, which is 1%. The
new team will study specific programs and measures to raise this
share by at least 1% each year.
(Asahi Shimbun, May)
-Starting salary of new college graduate care providers to be reduced
next spring-
Lifecommune Co., Ltd., a major operator of fee-based nursing homes,
plans to reduce the starting base pay of university and junior college
graduates joining the company as at-home care providers in spring 2005.
The starting pay will be reduced from approximately 230,000 yen per
month (which was paid to new employees this spring) to approximately
200,000 yen.
The company decided on this policy due to its prediction that, under
its impending plan to hire a large number of helper staff, it would be
excessively burdened with personnel costs. The company does not plan
to revise the wage levels of its current employees for the time being.
The reduced starting pay will apply to university and junior college
graduates with the Grade 2 Home-based Nursing Care Provider license,
as well as welfare caretakers who will be hired as career-track staff
and other employees. Under the current system, new career-track care
workers soon come to receive about 40,000 yen more in monthly wages
than head nursing care providers, who supervise several staff members
in hospitals, nursing homes and other nursing care services sites.
(Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, May)
Special Issue
-Summer bonuses to increase year-on-year for the second straight year-
Below is a rundown of various surveys on the recent employment and
business situation in Japan.
1. Labor Force Survey (flash report) (Ministry of Public Management,
Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications) = The total unemployment
rate for April (seasonally-adjusted value) remained largely unchanged
from the previous month, at 4.7%. There were 3.35 million totally
unemployed persons in April, or 500,000 fewer than in the same month
last year, constituting a drop for eleven consecutive months. The
number of people who left their jobs because of "employer-related
reasons" and "personal reasons" both decreased.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2004/no.17/summerbonuses.html
