 Industrial accidents on the increase in Japan By Workplace Issues Research Team (Part Three) For the abolition of industrial accidents The prevention and elimination of industrial accidents is workers' most pressing concern. Their urgent demands in the workplace can be summarized as follows. (1) Staffing levels that meet the need for achieving production plans Production plans must not to force workers to work overtime to excess. Workers must be guaranteed that they can use all of their paid holidays. As part of the effort to prevent companies from increasing workers' workloads in disregard of safety concerns, it is necessary to establish an in-house system that requires employers to obtain employees' consent in labor contracts. In Europe, production and staffing plans are based on the premise that workers do not work overtime and are allowed to fully use paid holidays. Production and personnel plans in Japan need to be changed to meet the European standards. (2) Fully comply with the Industrial Safety and Health Law and related laws Companies must be in compliance with the Industrial Safety and Health Law, especially Article 3 which states employers' basic responsibilities. (3) Establish and improve safety and health management system Under a production-first policy, companies have disregarded the importance of safety management. A report by a Labor Ministry panel on management for safety and health made clear that safety and health staff working at factories where accidents occurred tend to have insufficient knowledge and experience. Companies need to fully comply with Article 10 of the Industrial Safety and Health Law that requires them to appoint an employee as a safety and health manager to work to prevent industrial accidents. Article 19 requires a factory with more than 50 workers to set up a safety and health committee. Information regarding industrial accidents, including how to prevent and deal with them, must be made available to the committee members. (4) Require original contractors to take safety and health measures The accident rate among workers who are hired by subcontracting firms is twice that of full-time workers. Principal contractors are responsible for taking appropriate safety and health measures with subcontractors and other related companies. (5) Increase labor standards inspectors The government must improve the capability of the Labor Standards Inspection Offices to instruct and investigate factories as well as increase the number of labor standards inspectors and other staff. (From Akahata January 27 issue) (end) |