Japan Irregular Workers: Updated July 10, 2024.

 

Report on spring labor talks shows Japan's irregular workers mostly left behind

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240515/p2a/00m/0bu/027000c

Ideas:

Irregular workers, by some or many, are not seen as being important in the work place and maybe especially in Japan. Most irregular workers in Japan, are probably women workers and or student workers going to university and can't work full-time. For women, they might be women with children and they too can't work full-time.

But there are those in the work force, who for whatever reason, just can't seen to find full-time, full benefit type jobs, but they are fully capable if given a chance for a full-time job.

Unfortunately, companies try to limit their costs by hiring more irregular workers and limit the number of full-time workers, as much as possible.

It might be good for share-holders and stockers and their stock dividends, but its a negative for an economy if irregular workers are not given good wages.

Not to criticize, but how can companies, in good conscience, give such small wage increases to maybe those who do most of the work in a company.

It just goes to show, even in Japan, the part-time, the irregular workers, are not seen as being important in the workplace.   

Service type companies have very thin profit margins and maybe some of them don't have the resources to give wage increases as needed for their workers, so they do what they can.

The challenge, these days in Japan, is there is a labor shortage, so companies need to increases wages as a way to keep workers and or entice new workers to to work for them.

Unfortunately, there are companies like the Shuppan company that either don't care about their workers or think they can easily just replace that worker if he/she complains too much.

Part of the problem might be related to share-holders and stock-holders who demand a certain profit from the company and the company prioritizes shareholders over company employees.

Irregular workers are at the bottom of the workers hierarchy, and as such don't get much credit for anything, and as such, because their wages are so small they don't spend in the economy and can't do much in the economy.

Its like a entire segment of Japanese society is shut-out of spending and or contributing in any way.

Again, logistics and food industry companies might be service or quasi-service type companies and as such, have very thin profit margins which might prevent them from giving irregular workers with the needed wage increases.

But yes, as seen in the article, there are a few good companies that have rewarded irregular workers and given them wage increases befitting their value as stakeholders in the company.

Japan used to be the exception and regarded all workers as important stakeholders in a company, but those days might be long gone, as now Japanese companies have become too westernized and only think of the share-holder or stock-holder as the most important group in a company, and the workers are no longer value stakeholders but, but for some companies just commodities that can be easily replaced.

Irregular workers are just important for the Japanese economy as are full-time regular workers and they should be rewarded just as much as regular full-time workers with a livable wage, as much as possible. 

But unfortunately, in Japan, maybe many irregular workers are working women who can't work full-time as they are raising children too, and or they work for service companies that seem to claim their profit margins are just too thin to give irregular workers a decent wage increase.

So again, there are haves and have-nots in the Japanese society/economy, and some or many are going to be left out and not able to fully participate in the Japanese economy, and maybe just live on a so-called survivable wage.

Have a nice day and be safe!