August 17, 2010

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations released a statement demanding that the use of fixed-term contract workers be permitted only when employers have legitimate reasons to do so.

This statement was made in response to an interim report regarding fixed-term employment contracts published by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry’s study group.

The bar association’s statement asserts that as a part of measures to address the increasing poverty rate, the existing law on fixed-term employment contracts should be revised drastically. The statement also insists that a revised law should stipulate that employment contracts without fixed-terms must be the norm and should limit the use of fixed-term contract workers to exceptional cases.

As concrete examples, the statement cites two cases; cases in which fixed-term contract workers are temporary replacement for those who take leaves of absence; and cases in which the nature of the business clearly calls for the use of fixed-term contract workers. The statement demands that other than these two cases, employers should be banned from using workers on fixed-term contracts.

Furthermore, the statement calls for tighter regulations on the use of fixed-term contract workers, including a cap on the number of times a contract may be renewed and on the period available for use.
- Akahata, August 17, 2010