Japan Press Weekly

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2017 August 23 - 29 [LABOR]

Using legal loophole, Tokyo Univ. will stop hiring part-time staff working for more than 5 years

The University of Tokyo, in order to avoid legislative restrictions requiring employers to offer open-ended contracts to fixed-term workers who have been employed for five years, will not offer part-time contracts to those who have been employed for five consecutive years.

The university’s teachers and staff union and a part-time university lecturers’ union in the Tokyo metropolitan area on August 23 held a joint press conference in the Labor Ministry office building, accusing the University of Tokyo of deviating from the purpose of the Labor Contract Act.

According to the two unions, the University of Tokyo is planning to temporarily discontinue 5-year employment contracts of 5,300 non-regular staff members. However, after a period of six months, the university authorities will again employ the same part-time workers on 5-year-contracts so that the university does not have to sign indefinite contracts with them in compliance with the relevant law.

The chairperson of the part-time lecturers’ union, Matsumura Hinako, raised an alarm, saying, “The new rule the University of Tokyo created runs counter to the principle of the Labor Contract Act, which will have an adverse effect on the employment contracts of all non-regular workers in Japan.”

Sasaki Dan, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Social Science, said, “Together with the lecturers’ union, we will push the university authorities to offer open-ended contracts to part-time staff and teachers.”

Past related article:
> Education ministry puts brake on firing of part-time university teachers[January 12 & 14, 2017]