So-called ‘managers’ win unpaid overtime

Japan Press Weekly

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So-called ‘managers’ win unpaid overtime

Shop managers of Goodwill, the biggest temp agency up to 2008, who filed a lawsuit for nullification of their dismissal orders and for their unpaid overtime, reached a settlement with the company, agreeing to the amount of payment, on October 5 at the Tokyo District Court.

Seventeen managers filed the suit. Their job was to assign job seekers to recipient companies. These managers often had to work overnight because they had to respond to around-the-clock-complaints from user companies of temp workers as well as be there to answer questions from workers.

They could neither attend board meetings nor exercise discretionary powers on management. In exchange for a small sum of managerial allowance, they were not paid for their overtime. Their positions as managers were, in fact, in name only.

Goodwill Co. Ltd. closed down its business in July 2008 after its illegal labor practices came to light, and urged its employees to retire. Those who refused to retire joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Youth Union and brought the case to court, calling for a payment of 70 million yen in total.

-Akahata, October 6, 2010