August 22, 2014
Akahata editorial (excerpts)
Nursing-care workers’ working conditions remain poor. A recent survey conducted by a foundation affiliated with the welfare ministry shows that the turnover rate for care workers is 16.6% in 2013, much higher than the average of all workers. It also indicates that 56.5% of surveyed nursing-care providers are suffering from a labor shortage. Those providers said that they have difficulty in recruiting workers because of low wages and heavy labor. The government should fulfill its responsibility to improve care workers’ working conditions so that the general public can live comfortably in their old age.
According to that survey, 45% of respondent workers said they are affected by a shortage of workers, 43.3% said they receive too low wages for their heavy work, and 34.5% stated they find difficulty in taking paid holidays.
The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) released in July the survey results of working conditions of 6,300 care workers across the country. The report vividly describes those workers’ harsh situations.
According to Zenroren’s survey, the average monthly wage of regular employees in the elderly care industry is 207,795 yen, about 90,000 yen less than that of all full-time employees. More than 20% of respondents said that they are unable to take a single paid holiday. The percentage of workers complaining of lower-back pain, which is considered an occupational disease with care workers, comes to 63%. The proportion of respondents who have stiff shoulders reaches 57.7%. In addition, more than 10% replied that they are suffering from symptoms such as insomnia, which is apparently caused by chronic mental stress.
Some 30% of respondents said that they cannot provide adequate services to users. Over 70% of them pointed out that a labor shortage and workers’ heavy workloads lead to poor services. It is a matter of grave concern that care staffers’ working conditions have lowered the quality of nursing-care services as well as threatened users’ safety.
On the other hand, nearly 70% of respondents said that care work is a job worth doing. However, almost 60% said that they sometimes feel like quitting their job. Many care workers are working with anxiety over their health and their future.
It is a great loss to the country that quite a few care workers are driven to leave their jobs contrary to their original intention. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s government is trying to reduce the state’s responsibility for social security, accelerating the deterioration of care workers’ treatment. The Abe administration’s policy to cut nursing-care services and impose a restriction on the use of the services will further worsen care providers’ business conditions and consequently exhaust workers. Another national policy for admitting more foreign workers will increase the use of cheap and highly exploited labor.
The urgent need is to ensure a decent income for care workers so that they can make their future plans. The government should increase subsidies to elder-care business operators and encourage them to raise workers’ wages drastically.
As Japan’s society is aging rapidly, the role of elder-care workers is growing more and more important. The improvement of public care programs and workers’ working conditions will also contribute significantly to the growth of Japan’s economy.
Past related article:
> ‘Revision’ of nursing care insurance program will force more workers to quit their jobs [June 17, 2014]
Nursing-care workers’ working conditions remain poor. A recent survey conducted by a foundation affiliated with the welfare ministry shows that the turnover rate for care workers is 16.6% in 2013, much higher than the average of all workers. It also indicates that 56.5% of surveyed nursing-care providers are suffering from a labor shortage. Those providers said that they have difficulty in recruiting workers because of low wages and heavy labor. The government should fulfill its responsibility to improve care workers’ working conditions so that the general public can live comfortably in their old age.
According to that survey, 45% of respondent workers said they are affected by a shortage of workers, 43.3% said they receive too low wages for their heavy work, and 34.5% stated they find difficulty in taking paid holidays.
The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) released in July the survey results of working conditions of 6,300 care workers across the country. The report vividly describes those workers’ harsh situations.
According to Zenroren’s survey, the average monthly wage of regular employees in the elderly care industry is 207,795 yen, about 90,000 yen less than that of all full-time employees. More than 20% of respondents said that they are unable to take a single paid holiday. The percentage of workers complaining of lower-back pain, which is considered an occupational disease with care workers, comes to 63%. The proportion of respondents who have stiff shoulders reaches 57.7%. In addition, more than 10% replied that they are suffering from symptoms such as insomnia, which is apparently caused by chronic mental stress.
Some 30% of respondents said that they cannot provide adequate services to users. Over 70% of them pointed out that a labor shortage and workers’ heavy workloads lead to poor services. It is a matter of grave concern that care staffers’ working conditions have lowered the quality of nursing-care services as well as threatened users’ safety.
On the other hand, nearly 70% of respondents said that care work is a job worth doing. However, almost 60% said that they sometimes feel like quitting their job. Many care workers are working with anxiety over their health and their future.
It is a great loss to the country that quite a few care workers are driven to leave their jobs contrary to their original intention. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s government is trying to reduce the state’s responsibility for social security, accelerating the deterioration of care workers’ treatment. The Abe administration’s policy to cut nursing-care services and impose a restriction on the use of the services will further worsen care providers’ business conditions and consequently exhaust workers. Another national policy for admitting more foreign workers will increase the use of cheap and highly exploited labor.
The urgent need is to ensure a decent income for care workers so that they can make their future plans. The government should increase subsidies to elder-care business operators and encourage them to raise workers’ wages drastically.
As Japan’s society is aging rapidly, the role of elder-care workers is growing more and more important. The improvement of public care programs and workers’ working conditions will also contribute significantly to the growth of Japan’s economy.
Past related article:
> ‘Revision’ of nursing care insurance program will force more workers to quit their jobs [June 17, 2014]
