Japan Press Weekly

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2014 October 8 - 14 [LABOR]

Care and welfare industries workers’ union calls for better working conditions

The National Union of Welfare and Childcare Workers (Fukushi-hoikuro) on October 8 submitted to the labor ministry a proposal calling for improvement in working conditions to solve a tight labor shortage in social security sectors.

Private sectors concerning nursing-care, childcare, and support for disabled persons are having difficulties attracting workers due to harsh working conditions and low wages.

The labor ministry’s survey on private sector workers’ wages in 2013 showed that an average monthly income of care and welfare industry workers, such as home-care workers and childcare workers, is 100,000 yen lower than that of workers in other industries.

Survey results released by the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) indicate that care and welfare workers often consider giving up their careers because they are paid such low wages while having to work so hard.

In the latest ordinary Diet session, a bill to overcome the understaffed situation in the care and welfare industries was passed. A labor ministry’s panel has launched a discussion in order to give shape to the enacted bill. In the discussion, however, what to do and how to improve working conditions is left to industries’ efforts.

Fukushi-hoikuro in its proposal stressed the need to improve working conditions with a time deadline and proposed three items that include a creation of a law which stipulates the government responsibility for ensuring better working conditions at the national and local levels.