日本の非正規労働者の雇用不安と処遇格差 -実態と政府対策-

Abstract

This paper focuses on the unstable employment and discriminatory conditions of non-regular workers in Japan, and examines the current employment conditions and government policies regarding their situation. The proportion of non-regular workers is increasing rapidly as laws and restrictions are relaxed, more female women enter the labor market along with companies’labor demands. In particular, the 69.8 percent of female non-regular workers are working as part-timers. Many married female workers tend to choose part-time work under the Japanese employment system which is characterized by long working hours, job redeployment and a sexist corporate atmosphere. Switching from non-regular to regular employment is very difficult in Japan because the opportunities of a mid-career recruit are limited by the Japanese recruiting system, known as “the new-grad-mass-recruit”. The wages of non-regular workers are lower than regular workers whose wages are in “a seniority-based wage system”. In addition, the participation rate of four social insurance for non-regular workers is low and the opportunities for job training are limited as well. The improvement of the treatment for non-regular workers is very important for the sustained economic growth of Japan where the population is decreasing. The Japanese government has revised the law for non-regular employment, eased the conditions of social insurance and strengthened the support for job searching and carrier skill development for non-regular workers. The Japanese Revitalization Strategy of the Abe administration, which was revised in June 2014, include such initiatives as “the Geographically Limited Regular Worker system” as one of the measures to relieve the polarization between regular and non-regular workers.