japans 100hour overtime cap sparks anger
Last Updated : GMT 09:03:51
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
Last Updated : GMT 09:03:51
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

Japan's 100-hour overtime cap sparks anger

Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today

Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Japan's 100-hour overtime cap sparks anger

More than a fifth of Japanese firms employ staff whose tendency to overwork
Tokyo - AFP

Workaholic Japan has unveiled its first-ever plan to limit overtime, but critics want to give it the boot, saying an "outrageous" 100-hour-a-month cap will do nothing to tackle karoshi, or death from overwork.

Tokyo's bid to ease a national health crisis comes after the top executive at advertising giant Dentsu quit late last year in response to the suicide of a young employee who regularly logged more than 100 hours of overtime a month.

The death of Matsuri Takahashi generated nationwide headlines, prompting the government to come up with a solution to punishing work hours blamed for hundreds of deaths due to strokes, heart attacks and suicides every year.

A panel headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has since come up with a plan calling for a maximum of 100 overtime hours a month.

The conservative leader called it a "historic step for changing the way people work in Japan" but critics think the plan should be given its marching orders.

The Labour Lawyers' Association of Japan has slammed the proposed cap as "extremely inappropriate" and "impossible to support". 

"It's tantamount to endorsing a limit that could cause overwork deaths," said Association head Ichiro Natsume.

Others who have lost loved ones to karoshi agree.

"We cannot accept this -- it's outrageous," said Emiko Teranishi, who heads a group for relatives of karoshi victims.

"I thought the government was finally going to tackle the issue.... But this has turned out to be (a) step backward rather than a step forward."

"My husband worked for a total of 4,000 hours a year without weekends off. At most, he had two days off a month," she said, adding that he was pressured to work more by his recession-hit employer.Teranishi's husband was the manager of a struggling soba noodle restaurant in Kyoto when he committed suicide in the mid-nineties after suffering from depression blamed on long working hours.

"He was depressed. He told me he couldn't sleep or eat. I asked him to take a day off every morning, but he still went to work."

- 'How many more must die?'  -

The popular post-war image of a Japanese "salaryman" toiling long hours, drinking with the boss and then taking the last train home has evolved over the decades, but many still spend far more time at the workplace than their counterparts in other modern economies.

Currently, Japanese firms can make full-time employees work far beyond the usual 40 hours a week during busy periods.

Overtime is viewed as a sign of dedication at many firms, even if Japanese workers' productivity lags behind that of their US and European counterparts.

And more than one in five Japanese companies have employees whose tendency to overwork puts them at serious risk of dying, according to a government survey published in October. 

That survey was part of the nation's first white paper on karoshi.

The new rules would limit monthly overtime and levy penalties on firms that don't comply -- both firsts in a country notorious for its gruelling work schedule.

The scheme, hammered out by Japan's biggest business lobby Keidanren and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, known as Rengo, officially says overtime should not exceed 45 hours a month.

But the proposed changes to the labour laws, expected to be submitted this year, would let employers make workers put in as many as 100 hours of overtime if the office is busy -- a determination made by managers. 

Rengo's president Rikio Kozu praised the scheme as "the first step taken toward eliminating karoshi".

But it does not do enough to tackle the problem, said Hifumi Okunuki, a unionist and teacher at Sagami Women's University, warning that the death toll was sure to mount unless more stringent action was taken.

"It seems we have drifted further away from that day in the future when the word 'karoshi' becomes an historical footnote," she wrote in a Japan Times opinion column.

"How many more workers must die before our country wakes up?"

source: AFP

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

japans 100hour overtime cap sparks anger japans 100hour overtime cap sparks anger

 



Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017

GMT 09:22 2018 Monday ,22 January

Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way

GMT 11:03 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

New hunt for flight MH370 gets under way
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Modern colorful bedroom renovation

GMT 10:57 2017 Thursday ,21 December

Modern colorful bedroom renovation
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Puigdemont candidate for Catalan president

GMT 13:56 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Puigdemont candidate for Catalan president
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Turkey detains dozens more

GMT 10:47 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Turkey detains dozens more
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today The Rake announces editorial updates

GMT 10:46 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

The Rake announces editorial updates
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Europe brings on charm and blue skies

GMT 11:51 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Europe brings on charm and blue skies
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today For the Variety of Interior Design Styles

GMT 10:46 2017 Tuesday ,19 December

For the Variety of Interior Design Styles
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today US Christian tourists see deep meaning

GMT 13:44 2018 Monday ,22 January

US Christian tourists see deep meaning
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 10:03 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Amazon to open first cashierless shop

GMT 13:47 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

Philippines' Mayon volcano alert raised

GMT 14:01 2017 Wednesday ,27 September

Ryanair says dropping bid to buy Italian rival Alitalia

GMT 16:16 2011 Friday ,09 December

Passion Play

GMT 19:22 2016 Wednesday ,01 June

8 suicides killed in Algeria's Sétif

GMT 13:22 2017 Tuesday ,12 September

OPEC says oil output dips, 'rebalancing' underway

GMT 08:40 2012 Saturday ,28 January

Paradis showing her cleavage

GMT 11:46 2012 Thursday ,05 January

Canada streamlines airport security regulations

GMT 06:15 2014 Monday ,06 January

Saudi tribute to Bahrain police

GMT 09:33 2011 Sunday ,25 September

Kuwait court annuls Zain telecom meeting, election

GMT 08:12 2011 Thursday ,11 August

Moscow and Kiev to talk energy

GMT 11:49 2011 Friday ,18 November

European shares fall on debt yield worries

GMT 21:16 2017 Monday ,13 March

Abul Gheit phones new chief of AU commission

GMT 23:59 2016 Tuesday ,13 December

Iraqi police ‘ready’ to join east Mosul assault

GMT 17:14 2016 Friday ,12 February

Cavendish wins second Tour of Qatar title

GMT 17:00 2012 Friday ,14 September

Transforming the lives of transgenders

GMT 16:18 2017 Thursday ,06 July

German industrial orders rebound in May

GMT 19:44 2011 Tuesday ,09 August

Veteran Giuly returns to Monaco

GMT 19:47 2011 Wednesday ,23 November

Qatar inks $10.9bn deals for infrastructure work
Almaghrib Today, almaghrib today
 
 Almaghrib Today Facebook,almaghrib today facebook  Almaghrib Today Twitter,almaghrib today twitter Almaghrib Today Rss,almaghrib today rss  Almaghrib Today Youtube,almaghrib today youtube  Almaghrib Today Youtube,almaghrib today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

.almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday .almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday almaghribtoday almaghribtoday
almaghribtoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
almaghribtoday, Almaghribtoday, Almaghribtoday