  Don't backpedal on prevention of karoshi -- Akahata editorial, March 1The government will introduce a package bill to amend four labor-related laws, including the Industrial Safety and Health Law and the Shorter Working Hours Law. The bill, if enacted, would allow corporations to evade responsibility for the protection of workers' health and lives. The government proposes that workers be required to see doctors when they need to work long hours in order to prevent health hazards due to heavy workloads. But this requirement will be applied only to workers who work more than 100 hours overtime a month and who seek doctors' advice. This means a setback in the administration for the prevention of karoshi. Interviews with doctors should be mandatory The government directive issued in 2002 for the prevention of karoshi required business owners to order workers to seek advice from doctors if their hours of overtime work exceeds 45 hours a month. It also required workers to see a doctor if they work more than 100 hours of overtime a month or more than 80 hours on an average during a period of 2-6 months. If these requirements are only applicable to those who apply for them, the directive for prevention of karoshi will become a dead letter. It is very difficult for workers to pluck up the courage to apply for medical advice because they are forced to work in a competitive environment. A Supreme Court ruling in the case of suicide from karoshi at Dentsu Inc. clearly states that an employer has a duty to pay attention to workers' mental and physical health. It calls for reducing overtime work and requiring workers to see doctors for advice after taking on an excessive workload. The proposed abolition of the Shorter Working Hours Law, which calls for reduction of the annual maximum working hours to 1,800 hours, also poses a serious problem. The government says that the amendment is intended to improve the law to make working hours flexible to match a diversity of work styles. The average number of working hours in 2004, including those worked by part-time workers, was 1,816 hours. General workers worked 2,040 hours, which is longer than a decade ago. The practice of unpaid overtime is prevalent. About 28 percent of all workers in Japan work more than 50 hours a week, or 2,600 hours a year, ranking top among 13 advanced capitalist countries. How can the government withdraw its international pledge to shorten working hours? In order to ensure that workers can keep good health and fulfill their responsibilities for workers' nursing care and child-rearing, it is essential to shorten long working hours. If we do away with the goal of shortening working hours, it will allow long working hours to prevail. If workers are to be set free from the danger of karoshi, and if we are to overcome the declining birth rate, the government must make more efforts to meet this goal. Why is the government trying to regress from the present labor policy? It's trying to meet the demands of greedy business circles that pay little attention to workers' health and families. The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) has called for a review of the present government measures for preventing employees' health disorders caused by overwork. The January 13th issue of Nippon Keidanren Times reported that the business organization pressured the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare into changing its policy proposal into one of requiring workers to see doctors only when they want to do so. Thus, the business circle boasted of its successful influence in changing the government labor policy. At the ministry's panel meeting, representatives of business circles have insisted that the ministry's goal of cutting working hours is outdated. Ensure 'decent work' In Japan, places of work are plagued with death/suicides from overwork. Securing workers' health and safety is the minimum condition for a humane work environment. "Decent work" called for by the ILO as its central goal in the 21st century is the internationally accepted standard of labor. Japan's Industrial Safety and Health Law makes clear that corporations have a duty to take steps to ensure workers' safety and health by improving working conditions. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that workers can work in a decent environment and in good health. (end) |