Japan Press Weekly

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2014 September 3 - 9 TOP3 [LABOR]

Subcontracted workers at Fukushima NPP sue TEPCO over hazardous duty pay

Four subcontracted workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant on September 3 filed a lawsuit against TEPCO with the Fukushima District Court Iwaki Branch, claiming that the plant operator pretends ignorance of the non-payment of hazardous duty pay.

This is the first-ever case filed against the utility by subcontracted workers tackling the nuclear crisis in the high-level radioactive areas at the plant and working to decommission the plant’s reactors.

Arguing that TEPCO’s act falls under the category of a joint unlawful act, they seek 62 million yen in compensation.

Hazardous duty pay is paid to workers engaging in dangerous work, and the four plaintiffs complained that subcontract companies take the money but do not pay the workers.

They said that TEPCO knowingly does nothing to stop such exploitation under the multi-layered subcontracting structure, which is equivalent to an unlawful act of collusion between the original contractor and subcontractors, and that the utility should pay for damages.

A 34-year-old plaintiff said, “We receive almost nothing extra for our work under hazardous conditions. Decent payments of hazardous duty pay to subcontracted workers will facilitate the process of bringing the crisis under control and the decommissioning of the reactors.”

Past related article:
>TEPCO should instruct Fukushima subcontractors to pay hazardous duty allowance to workers: JCP Shiokawa [October 31, 2013]