January 12, 2017
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation on January 11 was referred to the Yokoyama District Public Prosecutors Office by a Kanagawa local labor law enforcement office on the charge of imposing excessive overtime on a worker in violation of labor laws.
The Fujisawa District Labor Standards Inspection Office announced that Japan’s leading electronics company in January and February in 2014 forced a male worker to work more than 100 hours of overtime a month which exceeds the ceiling set in the company’s labor-management agreement under Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act.
The worker began working at the Mitsubishi Information Technology R&D Center (in Kamakura City in Kanagawa Pref.) in April 2013. One year later, he suffered from depression after experiencing three months of excessive overwork. In June 2016, he was dismissed.
In response to the worker’s complaint, the labor law enforcement office in November 2016 began an investigation of his case. In the investigation, the worker stated that his boss ordered him to underreport the number of hours he worked. He also reported about power harassment he received from his boss. His depression was recognized as work-related.
In a survey conducted by the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Union, which is affiliated with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), Mitsubishi Electric ranked at the top among Japan’s major electronics companies in terms of long work hours.
Mitsubishi workers, for example, in 2014 worked an extra 404 hours a year on average and annual hours worked per worker averaged 2,162.4.The total number of hours worked per Mitsubishi worker in 2015 was 2,159.6 which included 405 hours of overtime.
Considering the fact that underreporting the number of hours worked was a common practice in Mitsubishi, it is highly probable that its workers are forced to work longer than these figures show.
Past related article:
> Dentsu accused of violating work hour rules [December 28 and 29, 2016]
The Fujisawa District Labor Standards Inspection Office announced that Japan’s leading electronics company in January and February in 2014 forced a male worker to work more than 100 hours of overtime a month which exceeds the ceiling set in the company’s labor-management agreement under Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act.
The worker began working at the Mitsubishi Information Technology R&D Center (in Kamakura City in Kanagawa Pref.) in April 2013. One year later, he suffered from depression after experiencing three months of excessive overwork. In June 2016, he was dismissed.
In response to the worker’s complaint, the labor law enforcement office in November 2016 began an investigation of his case. In the investigation, the worker stated that his boss ordered him to underreport the number of hours he worked. He also reported about power harassment he received from his boss. His depression was recognized as work-related.
In a survey conducted by the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Union, which is affiliated with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), Mitsubishi Electric ranked at the top among Japan’s major electronics companies in terms of long work hours.
Mitsubishi workers, for example, in 2014 worked an extra 404 hours a year on average and annual hours worked per worker averaged 2,162.4.The total number of hours worked per Mitsubishi worker in 2015 was 2,159.6 which included 405 hours of overtime.
Considering the fact that underreporting the number of hours worked was a common practice in Mitsubishi, it is highly probable that its workers are forced to work longer than these figures show.
Past related article:
> Dentsu accused of violating work hour rules [December 28 and 29, 2016]
