Japan Press Weekly

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2014 September 10 - 16 [LABOR]

Gov’t data: ‘limited regular employment’ creates disadvantages in wages and promotions

Recent government data has revealed that the “limited regular employment” system, the use of which is spreading under the Abe government economic policy, creates disadvantages for workers in terms of wages and promotions compared to the traditional employment system.

The term “limited regular” worker refers to a regular worker with an open-ended contract whose job location, job category, and working hours are limited. The government plans to further promote the use of this type of employment system under the guise of offering workers a choice of work-style options.

The labor ministry on September 12 released the results of a survey on companies that have introduced the “limited regular employment” system.

According to the survey results, more than half of the companies, or 52.3%, said that pay rates for “limited regular” workers are set at less than 90% of regular workers’ wages and 48.6% said that they put a ceiling on promotions of “limited regular” employees.

The survey also asked “limited regular” workers about disadvantages in their working conditions. “Lower wages” was the most common answer, accounting for 48.2%, followed by “little or no prospects for promotion” (25.2%).