business

Sagawa Express to hire 10,000 housewives as part-time staff

23 Comments

Sagawa Express is planning to employ about 10,000 housewives as part-time delivery staff over the next two years to offset a manpower shortage in the logistics and package delivery industry.

Sagawa recently began a recruitment campaign across Japan searching for new members. A company spokesman said Sagawa is targeting housewives who have just enough time and energy to spare to be a worthy asset in the effort to offset manpower shortages, NTV reported. Sagawa said it is expecting to employ 10,000 housewives by March 2016.

In between house chores and taking care of their children, these housewives will be employed to walk or bike around their neighborhood easily in order to drop off a few parcels a day to surrounding houses or businesses, Sagawa said. It would offer the women both an opportunity to make a little extra money, as well as take a break from the daily routine of being in the home. There would be flexibility over which days the women work and which areas they want to cover.

Sagawa said that compensation would not be offered at an hourly rate, but instead, would correlate to the number of parcels delivered.

As the popularity of online shopping has continued to rise at unforeseen rates, logistics and mail-delivery companies have had a hard time keeping up with delivery demand.

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23 Comments
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What happened to the politically correct word homemakers?

People realized that political correctness is retrded.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

I think this is great. I hope they also look into the possibility of hiring older staff too.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@cracaphat

With other charmers like OL and salaryman being cultural mainstays, I think you're asking too much!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I'm a house husband, can I apply?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

This is awful.

Why can't they hire unsubsidized workers? These workers will pay no tax, and take away work from the other workers. Abe needs to get away from subsidizing housewives. The company wins because they don't have to pay for half of the pension or health care, because the taxpayers are doing it for them. The taxpayers lose, as do the full-time working mothers of whose children go to the same schools as the children of these housewives, who will now get to hear "we all work, so you have to come to fold flowers in the middle of the working day or you don't love your children as much as we do."

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Just saw a news report on NHK about caregivers being unable to work. They're something like a NEET but for whatever reason they have to stay home to care for their elderly parents.

This is admirable work by Sagawa, but why not also try to employ the single unemployed too? ...or is this a publicity thing?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

An army of cheap labour than will be kept under the 1.3 million so they get their free pension and health care at the cost of the taxpayers and the company doesn't have to pay benefits, give promotions, mat leave, pension, health care or do anything about offering them any fair treatment male hires would get. Gee Japan, you certainly aren't learning anything about not treating women as lesser beings.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

tmarie - An army of cheap labour than will be kept under the 1.3 million

Do you really think they will even come close to earning that much? They will be put on a per-package system and paid a few hundred yen for each delivery. The article is very clear! It states, "It would offer the women both an opportunity to make a little extra money , as well as take a break from the daily routine." In other words, it's scab labor!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Perhaps reread my comments but yours makes no sense with regards to what I wrote.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

So what good is this gonna do? As someone said, no benefits, no nothing of value, just a way for Sagawa to make themselves look good.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It is cheaper to hire housewives, pay per package delivered. You and I know that there are lots of men out there looking for work, but it will cost too much to hire permanent or part-time male workers at hourly rate. Part of present day troubles started in early 1970s with part-time women workers filling-in at manufacturing companies. The taste for cheap labor has not abated since.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

tmarie: I think what Dis is trying to say is that it should be obvious that they're not providing employment that would sustain these people. It's just an actual part time job as we (in the west) define it: work a few hours on the side and get a little cash. Not the Japanese "Part-Time-but-actually-working-long-hours" part time.

That is to say, there should really be no reason for a company to have to provide benefits of any kind for a few odd hours here and there.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Last two-three years there was no job for a lot of people. And now many companies are facing a shortage of their workforce.

I think Sagawa finds a good target.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Kaynide, perhaps but then he (she?) should have said that. And regardless, Sagawa are taking the cheap way out. It is PT work but if they are hiring so many, clearly they could make FT positions but they aren't. Because housewives are cheaper. Why does Walmart get so much hate when pretty much Japan runs on the whole notion of paying crap wages and expecting the government to kick in the funds to cover what companies aren't paying? Pension, health care to millions of women for free because they earn less than a reasonable amount. It's garbage and this shouldn't be thought of as a positive move.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I am sure these PT employees will pay the tax, etc. like FT employees. J Govt will not miss chances to collect tax. It must be easier to employ housewives than waiting immigration workers who do not read Japanese written addresses. Well, Segawa can expect these housewives ' children grow and then these PT housewives can be switched to FT. By then, Segawa business territory will be bigger. Nice strategy.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Toshiko, I understand you've lived outside Japan for a long time so may not be aware of the minimum income threshold for paying income tax, paying into social insurance.

As long as the house-spouse keeps their earnings below the 1.3million annual threshold, they don't pay income tax and qualify as a dependent. Their pension is subsidized by the rest of us. The company doesn't have to kick in any social insurance, so it's better for them to have 5 or 6 of these casual laborers, who will quit taking work after earning 1.2 million for the year than hiring one or two full-time people.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@taj" Thanks for info.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I am sure these PT employees will pay the tax, etc. like FT employees

You are wrong. Most working women in this country pay zero tax because they make less than 1.3 million a year.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@tmarie

This is what modern feminism is, getting everyone working and lowering salaries for others. Of course part time workers like this pay no tax and they don't have the protection of full time workers thus saving Sagawa money. This is modern business and modern feminism going hand in hand.

It is oh so obvious worldwide just not in this instance that only the blind or those with an agenda cannot see.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

As long as there are some jobs available, it is good news. If you choose to work for Sagawa, it is still your choice.

Some women don't really have special skills since they have devoted families as house wives. Those women still can get jobs and get some money for themselves.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

No Steve, it is not. Perhaps you could read up what it is but it is not feminism. It's greed of powerful companies. Companies led by men.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@tmarie: I wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be major revision of the labor system, especially for the lower-end of the job market. Specifically guaranteed full-time and benefits once you hit 40 hours would be a start. There needs to be much stricter timekeeping and less free/off the clock/charity work. I honestly think just sending people home at 6 would give people more time to a) enjoy family life b) make babies and c) allow daddy to help mommy around the house more so she has more time to pursue work, should she want to.

The position of women in this country is ridiculous. There really is nothing more to say about it than that, and it is laughable that the general populous doesn't even seem to care.

Anyway: since my above post is getting flak (-3 at the time of this writing) and no one is offering counterpoints... I pose this question those who simply "don't like my opinion"..or are trolling me:

(1) Can you honestly justify giving benefits such as pension or holiday pay to workers who work very minimal hours (like, 5 per week maybe, and irregular/seasonal work at that), as might be the case in the above job offering?

(2) If yes, do you understand the cost/money/effort/paperwork involved for a company to hire each and every employee in setting up all those benefits?

And finally, (3) can't you see that, were all of those things required, companies would simply hire fewer part timers for more hours (ie the situation that exists now) and therefore, cut the housewives out of a job entirely?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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