Japan Press Weekly

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2019 May 8 - 14 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Teachers’ unions survey reveals exposure of high school students to unjust practices in job-hunting activities

A survey by teachers’ unions of high school students’ job-hunting activities has found that while a record high percentage of students received job offers, many of these students experienced unjust practices during their job-hunting activities. The survey results were published on May 10.

The survey is conducted annually by the All Japan Teachers and Staffs Union (Zenkyo) and the National Federation of Private School Teachers and Staff Unions (Shikyoren). In this year’s survey, the unions surveyed 19,756 students in 425 senior high schools in 25 prefectures who were looking to start working after graduating from school in March. As of the end of March, 97.5% of them succeeded in finding a job, the highest figure since the survey started in 1994.

On the other hand, the survey showed many reported cases in which job-seeking students encountered ethical and labor laws violations by prospective employers. Among them were 35 cases of labor law violations, including unilateral cancellations of job offers. In 108 other cases, students faced inappropriate questions during job interviews, such as “Do you want to become a full-time housewife when you get married?” “Why did your parents get divorced?” and “Does your father have a job?”

Zenkyo officer Yamada Shinpei said, “Job-hunting students often fall victim to inappropriate questions infringing on their privacy and human rights. This is a serious problem not shown in the high percentage of students receiving job offers.” He said that the unions will urge the Labor Ministry and other relevant ministries to take necessary action.

Past related articles:
> High school students facing unjust practices by prospective employers during job-hunting activities [December 19, 2015]
> Companies often ask job-hunting senior high students rude questions [May 9, 2015]