July 31, 2015
Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Koike Akira on July 30 at a House of Councilors labor committee meeting criticized the government-sponsored bill to relax rules on the use of temps as the fruit of cozy-ties between the temp industry and labor bureaucrats, demanding the scrapping of the bill.
The House of Councilors Labor and Welfare Committee on this day began discussing the bill which was rammed through the House of Representatives on June 19.
Koike pointed to the fact that retired high level officials of the Labor Ministry until three years ago obtained executive posts at the Japan Staffing Services Association, one of the major staffing industry associations. He also stated that over the past six years the ministry awarded temporary staffing agencies like Pasona, Japan’s leading staffing agency, various outsourcing contracts amounting to 10 billion yen, including the outsourcing of job placement services. Regarding these contracts, 4% of the total concluded in 2009 were no-bid contracts, but in 2014, the figure increased to 77%, Koike pointed out.
Koike said to Labor Minister Shiozaki Yasuhisa, “Are you really positive that no cozy relationship exists between the ministry and the temp industry?” Shiozaki replied, “Before assigning limited-competition contracts to staffing service companies, the ministry requests that they submit detailed plans regarding the contracts.”
Koike referred to the fact that the Japan Production Skill Labor Association, a group of temp agencies for manufacturers, made political donations to ruling party parliamentarians, including a former Labor Minister, and sent its representative to the labor ministry’s panel which discussed the revision of the law on the use of temporary workers. “It is apparent that the government-proposed bill to revise the law was drafted in line with the staffing industry’s demands, which amounts to a bill of the industry, by the industry, for the industry. Such a bill should be scrapped,” Koike said.
Past related article:
> Bill leading to a society without full-time jobs rammed through Lower House [June 20, 2015]
The House of Councilors Labor and Welfare Committee on this day began discussing the bill which was rammed through the House of Representatives on June 19.
Koike pointed to the fact that retired high level officials of the Labor Ministry until three years ago obtained executive posts at the Japan Staffing Services Association, one of the major staffing industry associations. He also stated that over the past six years the ministry awarded temporary staffing agencies like Pasona, Japan’s leading staffing agency, various outsourcing contracts amounting to 10 billion yen, including the outsourcing of job placement services. Regarding these contracts, 4% of the total concluded in 2009 were no-bid contracts, but in 2014, the figure increased to 77%, Koike pointed out.
Koike said to Labor Minister Shiozaki Yasuhisa, “Are you really positive that no cozy relationship exists between the ministry and the temp industry?” Shiozaki replied, “Before assigning limited-competition contracts to staffing service companies, the ministry requests that they submit detailed plans regarding the contracts.”
Koike referred to the fact that the Japan Production Skill Labor Association, a group of temp agencies for manufacturers, made political donations to ruling party parliamentarians, including a former Labor Minister, and sent its representative to the labor ministry’s panel which discussed the revision of the law on the use of temporary workers. “It is apparent that the government-proposed bill to revise the law was drafted in line with the staffing industry’s demands, which amounts to a bill of the industry, by the industry, for the industry. Such a bill should be scrapped,” Koike said.
Past related article:
> Bill leading to a society without full-time jobs rammed through Lower House [June 20, 2015]
