Tokyo police arrested three officials of temp agency Goodwill Inc. on Tuesday over allegations they helped a client company “double dispatch” temp staff to work at potentially dangerous jobs at piers.
The three included Taisuke Uemura, 37, a former manager in charge of the northern Kanto region and currently the business strategy section chief, and Toshihiro Nogami, 35, a former manager of the Event Shinjuku branch.
Also arrested was Ryuichi Egawa, 47, a former executive of the client company, Towa Lease, a cargo firm. He is suspected of double dispatching Goodwill’s temp workers to two cargo-handling companies, Sasada-gumi and Taiyo Marine.
Double dispatching involves a temp agency, like Goodwill, sending workers to a client company, which in turn sends the same individuals to work at other companies.
The practice is prohibited under the Employment Security Law because it makes it unclear who is responsible for the workers’ safety.
Although the double dispatching practice is said to be rampant among temp agencies and their clients, the investigation into Goodwill, based in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, is the first to develop into a criminal case.
In addition, dispatching temp workers to dangerous jobs, such as port cargo-handling work, is prohibited under the temp worker dispatch law.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Towa Lease, also based in Minato Ward, does not have a license as a temp agency.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200806040060.html