Japan Press Weekly

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2015 April 29 - May 12 [LABOR]

Labor minister indicates possible expansion of zero-overtime-payment system

A lawyers’ group dealing with issues related to exploitative labor practices of “black corporations” has revealed that Labor Minister Shiozaki Yasuhisa said that he seeks to respond to business circles’ demand for a “zero-overtime-payment” system that can be applied to more workers than the government proposal.

The Abe government submitted to the current session of the Diet a bill to create the system legalizing unpaid overtime. The government explains that the system will target the 4% of workers in Japan whose annual salary is more than 10.75 million yen.

According to the lawyers’ group, Shiozaki made this remark in a speech he delivered to a meeting of corporate executives held by a private think tank, the Japan Center for Economic Research, on April 20. The group posted the recorded speech in question on its website.

In his speech, Shiozaki noted that just after the submission of the bill, the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) claimed that the annual salary of 10.75 million yen is too high and called for easing salary requirements. The minister hinted that such a demand will make it difficult to enact the bill and asked business leaders for their cooperation by saying, “It would be appreciated if you would agree to keep quiet until the government succeeds in introducing the system.”

This indicates the labor minister’s intent that once the system is established, it will be changed in a manner the business world demands.

Keidanren is demanding that the system cover at least 10% of all workers.