Ignoring Discretionary Labor System

Performing as a reformer, possibly in order to generate public opinion positive for reforming post-war regime based on Constitution of Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promotes reform of way of working. However, he revealed his own ignorance about the actual situation of the workers in the discussion at the Diet, when he raised his argument that some workers in discretionary labor system worked shorter than ordinary workers. While Abe later took back his argument, it might have proved that Abe had been generating social gap between the rich and poor.

 

In the discussion in Committee of Budget of House of Representatives on January 29^th, Abe was trying to explain the necessity of expanding discretionary labor system in labor market. To the lawmakers basically opposing the system as coercing prolonged labor, Abe argued that there was a data in Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which indicated shorter working time of discretionary labor workers than ordinary workers in average comparison. Abe looked like recognizing a room for the workers more extended working time.

 

The opposite parties have been criticizing labor policy of Abe administration as promoting extended labor with low wage. Deputy President of Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Akira Nagatsuma found that the data Abe picked up included 9 offices that introduced 23 hours working a day. A whole day except 1 hour was working time for the worker there. It is obvious that the Ministry introduced in its survey such an extreme example to explain that long-time working would not be abnormal in Japanese labor market.

 

Abe later apologized on his inappropriate quotation on discretionary labor system and took his argument back. The survey was made with a question to the workers with discretionary labor system about how many hours did they work for a day. But, the question to the ordinary workers was what had been the longest working hours a day. Abe drew a conclusion from a survey comparing different things.

 

Discretionary labor system cannot simply be compared with ordinary labor, because the system is mainly introduced in the offices in which accurate working time is hard to be determined. Under the system, the manager can decide the working time of each worker with appropriate estimation. But it can cause arbitrary discount of labor with manipulated calculation of working time. It is undeniable for Abe’s economic policy to have been standing on the side of managers.