Japan Press Weekly

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2014 September 3 - 9 [LABOR]

Revision of Worker Dispatch Law won’t improve agency dispatched workers’ status

An agency dispatched worker at a Toyota subsidiary lost his hand in a work-related accident. Companies supplied with labor from staffing agencies are currently exempt from responsibility to provide compensation for workplace injuries. This brought into relief the fact that it is always agency dispatched workers who are forced to accept such an unfair situation.

Umezu Hiroshi, 45, began working as an agency dispatched worker at Kosei Aluminum Hokkaido, a Toyota Motor subsidiary, in September 2010. On his first day, he was told to watch a video and look around the factory as part of a training program. He was not shown an operating manual. Instead, he took notes when given oral instructions and learned how to use machines by watching others.

In February 2012, he got his hand caught in a machine operating at temperatures of more than 300 degrees Celsius during late-night hours and lost the left half of his left hand. He was alone at that time although it was supposed to be a two-man job. An emergency stop button was not positioned within easy range of his right hand.

Umezu joined a local union representing individual workers. In October 2013, he filed a lawsuit with the Sapporo District Court to seek compensation from Kosei Aluminum Hokkaido for his injury caused by a breach of the company’s responsibility to ensure workplace safety.

Article 36 and 41 of the Worker Dispatch Law require both staffing agencies and companies supplied with agency workers to adjust and coordinate measures to ensure agency workers’ health and safety. Under Article 45 of the same law, the former is responsible for providing compensation for work-related accidents and the latter is responsible for promoting workplace safety.

Therefore, there is no need for the latter to concern itself about having to pay workers compensation for injuries. This encourages the company to neglect its duty to maintain the safety of agency dispatched workers.

The Abe government is intending to adversely revise the Worker Dispatch Law so that corporations can use agency dispatched workers without restrictions.

Umezu said, “Companies to which agency dispatched workers are assigned use us as disposable labor. Adverse revision of the law will only help exacerbate the situation of agency workers.”