To help those most vulnerable in economic downturns, the labor ministry decided to ban, in principle, “registration-type” dispatches, in which staffing agencies conclude contracts with workers only for their dispatch periods, sources said.
The ministry also decided Tuesday to prohibit the staffing agencies from sending blue-collar workers to manufacturing industries for short-term work, they said.
The measures will be incorporated in revisions to the workers dispatch law, which are scheduled to be submitted to the ordinary Diet session starting next month.
The ministry plans to put the new measures into effect within three years after promulgation to ensure enough time to prepare for the drastic change.
During the global financial crisis, those on registration-type dispatches were among the first to lose their jobs, and often their homes, once their contract periods expired. Many of these workers had been sent to manufacturing industries.
The ministry’s plan is to help these workers get longer-term contracts and more stable employment.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200912170129.html