 Toyota's temporary workers receive only 1/3 of regular worker's wage Japanese Communist Party representative Daimon Mikishi at the House of Councilors Budget Committee meeting on March 10 demanded that the government cancel its plan to force taxpayers to shoulder extra burdens. He said that its argument that income will increase and accordingly the abolition of fixed-rate tax cuts will not cause a downturn in the country's economy is groundless. Citing the wage gap between temporary workers and regular workers in a Toyota Motor-affiliate plant as an example, Daimon said that the former receives 1,700 yen an hour while the latter earns 3,400 yen. He added that staffing firms siphon off 35 percent of temporary workers' hourly wage, thus their actual wage (1,100 yen) is only one third of that of regular workers. Showing a projection that the number of outsourced workers will increase to more than three million in 2010 from the present one million, Daimon stated that the expansion of non-regular employment will help lead to further wage restraints. "The government should withdraw the plan to force people to bear heavier burdens based on this groundless outlook," he said. Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro in reply repeated his optimistic outlook, "If companies boost their profits, it will give a favorable influence on employees' allowances, too." (end) |