英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun June 5, 2013
Not so fast on introduction of 'limited regular employees'
限定正社員　制度導入への課題はなお多い（6月4日付・読売社説）

Will it be a step toward expanding employment and better allocating human resources to growth areas?
　雇用を拡大し、成長分野に人材を振り向ける一助になるだろうか。

The government’s Regulatory Reform Council is set to propose that so-called “gentei sei-shain” (limited regular corporate employees) be systemized as part of the nation’s growth strategies.
　政府の規制改革会議は成長戦略の一環として、「限定正社員」の制度化を答申する方針だ。

These employees would be limited in the types of duties they could perform, work locations and working hours. Just like full-fledged regular employees, workers holding this position would be covered by corporate welfare benefit programs and would not be subject to a set period of employment. These workers also are called “job-based” regular employees, which are common in the United States and Europe.
　限定正社員は、職務や勤務地、労働時間が限定されている。正社員と同様、福利厚生が受けられ、雇用期間にも定めがない。「ジョブ型正社員」とも言われ、欧米では一般的である。

Although limited regular employees would be paid less than regular workers, their job status is considered more stable than that of nonregular employees. This category is expected to enable workers, who spend a considerable amount of time on child-rearing and nursing care, to choose a way to work that better fits their wishes.
　正社員より賃金は低いが、非正規社員に比べると、身分は安定していると言える。子育てや介護を抱える人は、自分の希望にあった働き方を選択できる。

Firms would also benefit

Many companies have introduced similar systems. But employment rules for such workers have not necessarily been established yet.
　こうした雇用形態を採用している企業は多いが、必ずしも雇用ルールは確立されていない。

Institutionalizing limited regular workers is expected to bring nonregular employees, who now account for 35 percent of Japan’s workforce, a step closer to regular workers. The growing number of nonregular employees, whose salary is low and who can easily be shown the door during corporate restructuring, is considered a factor behind the nation’s sluggish consumption.
　限定正社員を制度化することで期待されるのは、雇用者全体の３５％に膨らんだ非正規雇用が正規雇用に近づく一歩となることだ。給料が低く、リストラの対象にされやすい非正規雇用の増大は、消費低迷の要因とされている。

If work duties are limited to certain areas, employees’ specialized fields would be clarified. Some could utilize the system to build their careers, and it could be an advantage if they change jobs.
　職務が限定されれば、従業員の仕事の専門性が明確になる。人によってはキャリアを積むことができ、転職の際に強みになろう。

Furthermore, if the system of limited regular employees takes root, it would benefit companies. When companies shut down some outlets or abolish certain job categories whose objectives have been completed, they could dismiss those employees more easily than regular workers, whose employment would be protected through such steps as transfers to different departments.
　一方、限定正社員制度が定着した場合、企業側にもメリットがある。役割を終えた事業所の閉鎖や職種の廃止に踏み切る際に、配置転換などで雇用が保護される正社員とは違って解雇しやすい。

The envisaged system would remedy the current situation in which unprofitable divisions groan under an excess of workers.
　不採算部門に余剰人員を抱え込む現状の改善につながる。

But many challenges remain before the new position can be institutionalized. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) has taken umbrage with the fact that the limited regular employee system is being studied to ease rules covering worker dismissal. The labor organization has voiced opposition, saying that companies could fire employees just for their own convenience when factories or offices are shuttered. It denounced the system as “a liberalization of policies on firing workers.”
　だが、制度化への課題は多い。連合は、限定正社員が解雇規制の緩和という側面で検討されたことを問題視し、「工場や事業所の閉鎖に伴い、企業が勝手に社員を解雇できる」「首切りへの自由化策だ」と反発している。

Clear rules needed

Many companies are worried about the increasing risk of facing a lawsuit over staff dismissals.
　企業にとっては、解雇を巡る訴訟リスクの増加も懸念材料だ。

The Regulatory Reform Council is calling on the government to establish clear rules on such matters as in what cases companies could dismiss limited regular employees.
　規制改革会議は、どのような場合に解雇できるか、といったルール作りについて、政府に結論を出すことを求めている。

We think the envisaged system should not be allowed to facilitate easy restructuring, which would rather destabilize the employment situation.
　安易なリストラを助長し、かえって雇用の不安定化を招くような事態は避けるべきである。

How can shifting labor from structurally depressed industries to growth industries be promoted without increasing unemployment? Crafting a highly fluid labor market is essential for the revival of the nation’s economy.
　失業を増やさずに、構造不況業種から成長産業へ、いかに労働力の移動を図るか。流動性の高い労働市場を形成することが、日本経済の再生には欠かせない。

To help laid-off workers find new careers, the government and companies also need to strengthen job placement and training services.
　従業員が解雇された際の再就職を支援するため、政府や企業は就職先のあっせんや職業訓練にも力を入れる必要があろう。

We hope discussions will deepen from broad viewpoints, not only regarding employment but also including economic growth and the international competitiveness of Japan’s industries.
　雇用だけでなく、経済成長や産業の国際競争力など幅広い観点から議論を深めてもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 4, 2013)
（2013年6月4日01時12分 読売新聞）