Extension of the maximum period for terminable employment contracts
On July 24, the Japanese government's
Comprehensive
Regulation Reform Conference issued
an interim
report, outlining concrete measures
for implementing
future regulation reforms. In the labor
sector,
the scope for which the term "temporary
workers" applies will be expanded
to
include manufacturing operations. The
government's
aim is to diversify the employment
format
and style. In addition, the maximum
period
of terminable employment contracts
will be
extended to five years.
As far as terminable employment is
concerned,
the existing Labor Standards Law does
not
approve of employment contracts whose
period
exceeds one year, with the exception
of a
small number of highly specialized
occupations.
The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
meanwhile, drew up a Request on Labor Policies
and submitted it to the Minister of Health,
Labour and Welfare on July 12. The request
includes the easing of dismissal regulations,
the easing of requirements for introducing
the flexible work hour system, and the extension
of temporary work period.
The labor community opposes the extension
of terminable employment contract period,
insisting that it will lead to a greater
number of unstable jobs.