Japan Press Weekly

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2021 August 11 - 17 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Municipal workers' union: Outside digital HR goes against fairness in public affairs

Accompanied by Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Ito Gaku and JCP member of the House of Representatives Motomura Nobuko, the Japan Federation of Prefectural and Municipal Workers' Unions (Jichiroren) on August 4 questioned the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Diet building about the use of external human resources from private enterprises in public digital services.

At present, municipalities appoint private company employees to the position as chiefs and assistants for the municipalities' promotion of digitalization.

According to the guidelines of the Internal Affairs Ministry, they should be appointed as special service part-timers or consigned employees.

A ministry official said, "Their duty is limited to giving advice," and clarified that outsourced consigned employees cannot give instructions or orders to local government employees.

In Hiroshima's Fukuyama City, however, outsourced consigned employees instruct city government officials what to do.

Jichiroren's chief researcher Kubo Takahiro pointed out, "Direct instructions from outsourced workers to municipal employees is against the government guidelines." Kubo added, "It is a problem in ensuring the fairness of public services," demanding that the national government investigate the actual conditions.