Non-regular workers in Japan: issues and challenges of new economic order

Globalization has become repressive on the labour and recessions have led to non-standardization of work. Non- regular workers have become a feature of every economy in order to manage the flexibility of the market. Automobile sector in Japan is an ample example of seamlessly using different forms of non-regular workers including the fixed term contract to dispatched workers. But, be it the Lehmen shock or great earthquake of Japan, this is the portion of the labour market which is required to take the burn. These non-regular workers are part of core production, and expected to improve the productivity without increasing the labour cost and even being treated not as a part of the work family. This study is a qualitative approach to explore the standards of nonregular workers working in Japanese automobile sector. The interview response includes the management and union representatives from two large-scale automobile companies and the leaders from automobile workers union and national federation. The study found some positive steps by both employers as well as union in terms of maintaining the employment contract, providing training to the non-regular workers, creating opportunity for regularization of employment. However, it was also found that the inequity still exist between the regular and non-regular workers. This study will help the policy makers, managers and union leaders in preparing their course of action to deal with the challenges of non-regular workers.