Japan Press Weekly

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2008 August 20 - 26 [LABOR]

Casualties among temp workers nine times more in just three years

The number of temporary workers who died or were injured at work in 2007 was 5,885, nine times more than the number in 2004 when the ban on the use of temporary workers in the manufacturing industry was removed.

Clearly, since the 2004 deregulation, the number of temporary workers has rapidly increased and they have been forced to work without enough safety control imposed.

The number of temporary workers who died or were injured on the job in 2007 was 2,703 in the manufacturing industry and 316 in transportation industry.

Among 36 temp workers who died, 18 were working at manufacturing plants, and 11 at construction sites.

Amid increasing calls for the revision of the Worker Dispatch Law, the Labor Ministry has decided to ban the use of temporary day laborers.

Izutsu Momoko, secretary general of the National Center for Contingent Workers within the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), said, “It is urgently needed to get the Worker Dispatch Law drastically revised to restore regulations that were removed by the 2004 deregulation.” She stressed the need to strengthen the movement to urge the government to drastically revise the law in the upcoming Extraordinary Session of the Diet. - Akahata, August 22, 2008