Nonregular workers at big firms left out of virus-related benefits

Name and shame the companies!

But nonregular workers at large companies are not eligible for the scheme as it is assumed their employers will apply for the subsidies to maintain employment.

Asked why she was not entitled to compensation like her manager, the company said those who work permanently devote more of themselves to earn their living compared with part timers.

They work equally but when it came to benefit it's really based on their status whether regular/non-regular. Even prior pandemic the number of unemployment was low but most of those worker around 40% are non-regular worker.

Another day another story about contract workers (who are actually full time workers on a different cheaper less secure contact with few benefits) getting screwed over again. . . . . .

While the cafe manager, the only regular employee at her workplace, received benefits from the company to make up for leave due to the closure, nonregular workers hardly got any compensation.

Asked why she was not entitled to compensation like her manager, the company said those who work permanently devote more of themselves to earn their living compared with part timers.

Is this a suprise to anyone?It is common knowledge that the subsidies like GoTo and the other corporate welfare programs are direct payments to companies and their executives and their would be no enforcement of any of that subsidy money trickling down.

Of course now we have a vow from Suga...

Since the start of the pandemic have unemployment benefits benn extended to non regular workers?Which would be the simplest way to assist them and which nearly every other advanced nation has done?

Still waiting on that...

being told by their employers to take time off due to the pandemic was more than double the figure for regular staff

That is not only in Japan.

That is everywhere.

In my home country is the same situation.

If the company struggles for whatever reason, the first people who will feel it are the nonregular workers.

Asked why she was not entitled to compensation like her manager, the company said those who work permanently devote more of themselves to earn their living compared with part timers.

I know many part timers who devote more of themselves to work in terms of time spent working each week than some permanent employees. The difference is they devote their time to 2, 3, or 4 companies rather than just 1.

Any company should be forced to support all their employees in the same ways relative to the hours they are employed. Therefore if a non permanent employee is working at 2 different places, they would still receive 100% of all compensation they deserve - but it might be payed 50-50, 75-25, or 50-25-25 etc depending of the amount of time they are spending at each place.

Japan's class/caste gaps widen.

Shocking. Who would have guessed nonregular workers would get shafted like this. I can't believe it.

@marcelito

That’s the thing about being non-regular

I agree!

As a non regular you are always in a bad situation and you will get treated in a worse way than the regular workers.

ThaIs the thing and that is everywhere...not only in Japan.

prompting Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to vow Thursday to end such discriminatory treatment.

The governments laws are the root cause of this discrimination in the first place.

The solution is not for more government meddling, but rather less, government, meddling.

There should be NO basis in law for creating two classes of worker.

This cuts both ways, abolishing these crap labour laws will see privilege removed from “regular” workers.

But it should be done.

Government has created a mess, it must recognize that its laws are the problem, and get itself out of the business of facilitating discrimination. Just get out of it, because you cannot fix it, because you government, and your laws, are the source of the problem to begin with.

That’s the thing about being non-regular. You don’t get regular benefits. As harsh as it is, it’s pretty easy to understand."

The benefits / state subsidies being discussed in the article are paid by the govt not by the company. Company just has to apply for them thats all.

That's true, but the fundamental problem is the increasing trend of companies employing people on non-regular contracts.

The number of people employed on such contracts and the types of companies making use of these contracts has shot up in recent years, however the protections available to these workers are still minimal. This wouldn't be a huge problem if there was still a clear path to permanent status, but unfortunately that isn't an option for most. The perceived gain is only short term and it's going to create a more serious long term problem if people being employed on these kinds on contracts aren't properly protected.

Asked why she was not entitled to compensation like her manager, the company said those who work permanently devote more of themselves to earn their living compared with part timers.

What an asinine comment/excuse here! I would suggest here, based upon prior experience in the companies I have worked for, that the PT workers busted their butts, sometimes, more than double that of the "permanent" workers.

Many did in the hope that maybe they would have the chance to become full-time too!

Just like the koumuin who sit on their arses all day and make the PT workers do everything!

I guess either way it won't help me.

I get paid by 'my company' on a contract worker basis, so they pay me depending on how much I work. Work has gone down by 30-40% so pay has gone down by 30-40%.

To be fair, the company was pretty good at supporting workers, but there's a limit to their ability to continue that.

Also, to be fair, I could apply for the government benefit last June that helped cover a lot of that loss.

But that was a long time ago, and things have recovered only partially, and the government is showing no signs of providing any support in 2021.

My friend is a dispatch worker due to pandemic she was laid off before her contract ends. She is receiving full salary without work for 6 months.

After defeat in WWII we chose a path of capitalism. This is what happens when corporations and money are more important than people. Make your own bed.

MontyToday 08:40 am JST

@marcelito

That’s the thing about being non-regular

I agree!

As a non regular you are always in a bad situation and you will get treated in a worse way than the regular workers.]

Yes, and there are similarities with the other article about foreigners being laid off. The problem is not nationality, or discrimination though it could be, but the work contract

This situation had largely affected the English teaching world for foreigners as well. Many companies told their employees not to report to work and for some of them, months at a time, and those employees went without pay. Even though virus assistance was available, companies such as interac and Nova refused to use it to pay their teachers.

people being employed on these kinds on contracts aren't properly protected.

Who it is that should protect the worker?

The solution is not for more government meddling, but rather less, government, meddling.

There should be NO basis in law for creating two classes of worker.

Yes , the poor put upon companies are always lobbying for transparent free market hiring practices and attractive working conditions, but the dastardly government keeps forcing them to accept having the abilities to use non-regular contract employment conditions that benefit their bottom line and disenpower workers.

Funny how that government meddling always seems to work out in favor or the wealthy?

I’ve always wondered how the share prices could rise to bubble levels. One answer is here.

Staying anonymous is a sad part of the Japanese culture in my opinion.

If more people would stand up and say what they think proudly, there might be changes.

And that's why the "non-regular workers" haken gaisha schemes exists. For years they've been able to get away with so much and you really can't blame them, since they've been allowed to do so for so long.

Funny how that government meddling always seems to work out in favor or the wealthy?

It’s not funny at all - what else would one expect!

This is precisely why we need to keep government out of controlling so many aspects of ours lives, and take responsibility for ourselves without special privilege created for different groups among us by government.

We should govern ourselves, not subject ourselves to such terrible government of us by others.

We need individual freedom to make our own choices without government meddling!!

take responsibility for ourselves without special privilege created for different groups among us by government.We should govern ourselves, not subject ourselves to such terrible government of us by others.

Meanwhile government in concert with business interests work everyday to create privilege and competitive advantage for themselves through collusive action.

What could one expect?

As recent stories like the Gamestop/Wall street hedge fund shorts show, the free, friction-less market is a pernicious libertarian lie and corporate financial interests always work to use their influence to manipulate regulatory bodies to create conditions favorable to the profits of the oligarchs.

Meanwhile government in concert with business interests work everyday to create privilege and competitive advantage for themselves through collusive action.

That’s precisely why we must shrink the role of government!

The centralization if power in the hands of a few can only mean bad things!!

If we were to restrain government to a smaller role in our daily lives then it would remove the incentives for interest groups to seek special privilege for themselves at our expense! That is how we can level the playing field.

As recent stories like the Gamestop/Wall street hedge fund shorts show, the free, friction-less market is a pernicious libertarian lie

The free market is indeed imperfect, but it is invariably better than the alternative - the disaster that government intervention in our lives leads to!

and corporate financial interests always work to use their influence to manipulate regulatory bodies to create conditions favorable to the profits of the oligarchs.

Hence, my point! There is too much centralization of power, which is susceptible to these forces.

The solution is to neuter them all by taking power and responsibility for ourselves into our own hands - decentralize the power into the hands of, us. We are adults! We can think and act for ourselves!

The folks playing the Reddit game versus the institutional shorts can do whatever they like, and live and suffer from the consequences that may befall them. It’s their business, their choice.

The folks playing the Reddit game versus the institutional shorts can do whatever they like, and live and suffer from the consequences that may befall them. It’s their business, their choice.

Except the WallStreetbets Reddit retail investors were not free to do whatever they like as so called adults in a so called free market as Robinhood and Etrade apps succumbed to hedge fund and SEC pressure to throttle trades.

When things turn against business in the "free market" they turn to government to change the rules, get bailed out and socialize losses.

As in the case in the Japanese labor market, the game is rigged when businesses get their cronies in government to rig the system.

This act is very bad.