July 26, 2011
Akahata editorial (Excerpts)
The Supreme Court on July 21 supported a lower court ruling that the death of a 37 year-old retail store worker with cardiac dysfunction was caused by overwork, turning down the state government’s appeal against the ruling.
The standards for work-related compensation recognize that 45 hours of overtime in one month increases the risks of heart disease. The point at issue in the lawsuit was whether the standards for “ordinary” workers should be applied for disabled workers. The latest ruling calls on the Labor Ministry to make a judgment on work-related compensation for the disabled in accordance with the degree of their disability.
In December 2000, Koike Katsunori, a worker at a home appliance store in Toyokawa City in Aichi Prefecture, died at the age of 37. Suffering from cardiac dysfunction, Koike was certified as having a 3rd level of physical disability which “severely restricts activities in daily living.”
While being aware of Koike’s health problem, his company, Matsuyadenki, assigned him the same jobs as other workers, forcing him to keep standing throughout the day, do overtime work, and achieve a sales quota.
Both the Labor Standards Inspection Office and the Nagoya District Court refused to recognize Koike’s death as caused by overwork on the grounds that his overtime was 33 hours a month, less than the 45 hours.
However, Koike’s doctor had diagnosed him as having difficulty working while continuously standing and told him that he needed to leave the office by 3 p.m. Koike’s employer, while receiving grants from the government for hiring disabled people, ignored the medical opinion and forced Koike to continue to endure the heavy workload.
The Labor Ministry requires employers to determine working hours for their employees with disabilities based on their conditions. However, it has failed to take measures to ensure the meeting of this requirement. The current standards for work-related compensation must be drastically revised in order to guarantee decent working conditions for every worker.
The Supreme Court on July 21 supported a lower court ruling that the death of a 37 year-old retail store worker with cardiac dysfunction was caused by overwork, turning down the state government’s appeal against the ruling.
The standards for work-related compensation recognize that 45 hours of overtime in one month increases the risks of heart disease. The point at issue in the lawsuit was whether the standards for “ordinary” workers should be applied for disabled workers. The latest ruling calls on the Labor Ministry to make a judgment on work-related compensation for the disabled in accordance with the degree of their disability.
In December 2000, Koike Katsunori, a worker at a home appliance store in Toyokawa City in Aichi Prefecture, died at the age of 37. Suffering from cardiac dysfunction, Koike was certified as having a 3rd level of physical disability which “severely restricts activities in daily living.”
While being aware of Koike’s health problem, his company, Matsuyadenki, assigned him the same jobs as other workers, forcing him to keep standing throughout the day, do overtime work, and achieve a sales quota.
Both the Labor Standards Inspection Office and the Nagoya District Court refused to recognize Koike’s death as caused by overwork on the grounds that his overtime was 33 hours a month, less than the 45 hours.
However, Koike’s doctor had diagnosed him as having difficulty working while continuously standing and told him that he needed to leave the office by 3 p.m. Koike’s employer, while receiving grants from the government for hiring disabled people, ignored the medical opinion and forced Koike to continue to endure the heavy workload.
The Labor Ministry requires employers to determine working hours for their employees with disabilities based on their conditions. However, it has failed to take measures to ensure the meeting of this requirement. The current standards for work-related compensation must be drastically revised in order to guarantee decent working conditions for every worker.
