Karoshi ombudsman group launched in Osaka

About 30 lawyers, doctors, and professors on June 12 established the "Labor Standards Ombudsman" in Osaka, the aim being to eliminate karoshi (death from overwork).

The Ombudsman will provide workers with legal and health advice regarding the prevention of karoshi. If necessary, the Ombudsman will take a company to court for a violation of the Labor Standards Law or the Industrial Safety and Health Law.

For workers who died from overwork, the Ombudsman will work towards getting their death recognized as work-related so that their families can receive work-related accident compensation. The Ombudsman will also denounce companies' illegal actions against workers and demand that the Labor Standards Inspection Office bring criminal charges against such employers.

Those people who have founded the Ombudsman office have carried out counseling on karoshi for more than a decade. (end)