nuclear-news

Many Fukushima labourers cheated out of correct pay

Ministry: Many Fukushima laborers deprived of danger pay
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201302090067  By
TOSHIO TADA February 09, 2013 The Environment Ministry has admitted
danger pay has not been reaching some laborers entitled to a hefty
bonus for their work on decontamination projects near the Fukushima
No. 1 nuclear plant.
Unscrupulous employers likely pocketed the missing cash, but the
ministry says it will neither penalize them nor name and shame them
because that “would have a big adverse effect,” an official in charge
of the matter said.

Many cleanup workers are eligible to daily allowance of 10,000 yen
($108) on top of their regular wage in recognition of the risk they
face from radiation exposure.

It is thought that hundreds of workers failed to receive this, but the
number could be much higher.

On Feb. 8, the ministry said it had identified seven projects in which
workers did not receive the full amount.

In November 2012, The Asahi Shimbun aired allegations of nonpayment.
Following that reporting, about 100 alleged victims petitioned the
Environment Ministry for action.

The ministry took its time in responding. But on Jan. 22, it ordered
contractors, including those with central- or local-government
decontamination contracts, to investigate the allegations of
nonpayment.

The contractors reported to the ministry that they found evidence that
it happened in six of the 33 projects already completed and in one
project that was still ongoing.

The ministry does not know exactly how many workers received less than
they should have because it did not oblige contractors to reveal those
figures. But a decontamination project often involves anywhere from
several hundred to several thousand laborers. Therefore, the number of
individuals deprived of danger pay is likely to be in three figures
and could be significantly higher.

The Environment Ministry plans to issue a written demand to
contractors involved that they now make back-payments to the workers
concerned. But it will stop short of naming them publicly or imposing
punitive measures.

The nonpayment issue is one that, under normal conditions, could
result in the offending contractors being suspended temporarily from
bidding for further public-works projects from the Environment
Ministry.

In muting its response, the ministry apparently hopes to prevent the
scandal from spreading.

February 11, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | employment, Japan