A bill to effectively ban staff agencies from dispatching workers on a daily basis was approved by the government Tuesday, boosting the protection of temporary workers.
The amendment to the worker dispatch law would bar staffing agencies from dispatching registered workers for day work or less than 30 days’ employment. But people in 18 professional areas, including interpreters and secretaries, would be exempt.
The dispatch of temporary workers on a daily basis has been criticized for spawning young working poor and widening Japan’s social disparities.
The illegal dispatch of workers has made headlines as many firms have been found to have issued work orders and instructions to employees dispatched by staffing agencies. The bill would enable the government to advise such companies in violation of the law to form direct employment contracts with workers being sent by manpower agencies.
The amendment would take effect next Oct. 1. Some key provisions of the amendment, including banning the dispatch of day workers, would not take effect until April 1, 2010.