Japan Press Weekly

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2017 May 10 - 16 [LABOR]

Gov’t plan to increase use of foreign workers without worker protection rules is unacceptable: JCP Tamura

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Tamura Takaaki on May 10 at a House committee meeting said that a bill to allow the use of foreign workers in the agricultural sector without worker protection rules is unacceptable.

The Lower House Special Committee for Regional Revitalization is now discussing a bill to revise the “special district” system law which enables foreigners to work as contingent workers in the agricultural industry.

At present, the employment of foreign workers in unskilled jobs is prohibited in general. However, farmers can employ foreigners if they use the national foreign trainee program.

JCP Tamura pointed to human rights violations and illegal labor practices in the foreign trainee program which include physical assaults on foreign trainees and unpaid wages. He criticized the government bill for failing to incorporate proper measures to prevent and punish employers’ wrongdoings.

Furthermore, Tamura said that the temporary agency work situation makes it difficult for agency workers to receive adequate protection against illegal labor practices because employer-employee relations do not exist between temporary workers and employers.

Tamura said that in order to revitalize local economies, the urgent need is for the government to make all-out efforts to develop agriculture and forestry through various measures such as subsidies to deal with the decline in the price of agricultural products and a program to support young farmers.

Past related articles:
> Record number of illegal labor practices found among employers using foreign trainees [August 18, 2016]
> Illegal labor practices and human rights abuses against foreign trainees unacceptable: JCP Hatano [April 7, 2016]