Give ‘irregular’ workers a fair shake

The Japan Times, editorial, 28 February 2004

Continued corporate restructuring in Japan has taken a heavy toll on regular workers. One result of this is a sharp increase in the number of irregular workers, such as part-timers and temporaries. Now they number about 15 million, representing a third of the labor force; in the case of women, one in two is a irregular. More and more of these nonpermanent employees are doing practically the same jobs—and assuming practically the same responsibilities—as permanent employees.

The fact remains, however, that a wide gap exists in wages and other conditions of employment between these two groups of employees. Worse, the gap continues to widen, reflecting a tight labor market. Equal work, equal pay is a universal principle, of course, although this is easier said than done. To correct the disparity, fair rules of employment need to be established for irregular staff.

In earlier times, employers hired irregular workers to meet temporary business demands or fill positions that required relatively easy or simple work. Now their primary aim is to cut payroll costs, as shown by a recent labor ministry survey. Thus employers increasingly are trying to replace higher-paying regular jobs with irregular ones that pay less.

At the same time, attitudes on the part of job seekers are changing significantly. Previously, part-time work was chosen largely by those who wanted to make more flexible use of their time; it was favored particularly by married women with children. Now, however, choosing between full-time and part-time jobs is a luxury few applicants can afford. Part-time work is more a necessity of life than a way of life.

This is making things difficult particularly for part-timers and other irregular employees who work in much the same way as irregular staff. A private survey shows 17.5 percent of part-timers sharing both work and responsibility with full-time staff on an equal footing, and 35.7 percent doing the same work at lower levels of responsibility. Corporate downsizing is likely to reinforce this tendency.

The fact is that this burden-shifting to part-timers is taking place with little or no substantial improvement in their employment conditions. The widening wage imbalance is painful proof that they are being treated grossly out of proportion with the volume, quality and responsibility of their work. The ministry survey shows that part-timers' hourly wages are about 45 percent of those of full-time employees—the lowest in more than 10 years. Including bonuses, paid leave and fringe benefits, the gap becomes wider still.

The survey is a wake-up call to employers: If the disparity is left uncorrected, it will demoralize irregular workforces to the point where it could affect corporate performance. To correct the imbalance, it is essential, therefore, that irregular staff be treated in basically the same way as regular staff as long as both are doing the same work under the same schedule.

The wage gap is not the only problem. Many employment contracts are of limited duration. Even if they are open-ended, many part-timers work in constant fear of being laid off because employers are less reluctant about firing them. Such unease will be reduced or removed if employers accept greater obligations, including open-ended employment.

It is also important to organize part-time labor. To its credit, Rengo, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, has been working to unionize part-timers over the past several years, but so far only 300,000, or 3 percent, of them have joined unions. The nation's largest labor group, however, needs to pay as much attention to the problems faced by full-time workers, many of whom are concerned that efforts to improve their own conditions could take a back seat to the initiative for part-timers.

Experience in European countries offers useful examples. The Netherlands has legislation banning discriminatory employment practices against part-time workers. For example, the law sets part-timers' hourly wages at about the same level as those of full-time workers. Similarly, France provides legal guarantees based on the principle of equal treatment.

Japan has been lagging in this area. Now, however, opposition parties are taking the initiative. The Japan Communist Party has already introduced a bill aimed at improving the working conditions of irregular employees, while the Democratic Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party are planning to submit a joint bill for a similar purpose. These proposals deserve full deliberation in the Diet. The common aim is to give all workers fair treatment, regardless of their employment status.