過労死防止法案 働く人の心と体を守りたい

The Yomiuri Shimbun 7:13 pm, May 18, 2014
Legislation needed to prevent ‘karoshi’ death from overwork
過労死防止法案　働く人の心と体を守りたい

The number of people dying from overwork has shown no signs of declining significantly. Working conditions must be improved and further measures are needed to prevent “karoshi,” or death from excessive work.
　働き過ぎのために、命を落とす人が後を絶たない。労働環境を改善し、過労死を防ぐ対策を充実させる必要がある。

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has compiled a bill to prevent such deaths and will submit it to the current Diet session. Its feature is to make the government responsible for taking countermeasures against death from overwork and carry out a survey on hazardous health conditions caused by excessive work. According to the bill, the government should draft an outline of specific preventive measures and draw up stipulations to carry them out.
　自民党が、過労死防止法案をまとめた。今国会に提出する。過労死対策を国の責務と位置づけ、実態調査の実施を求めた点がポイントである。具体的な防止策については、政府が大綱を作成して規定する。

Meanwhile, six opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Japan, have jointly submitted a bill with similar contents to the Diet. We expect the opposition and ruling parties to work together and quickly coordinate their bills to realize the legislation.
　民主党など野党６党も、既に同趣旨の法案を提出している。与野党は調整を急ぎ、成立を図ってもらいたい。

In fiscal 2012, as many as 338 workers were recognized as suffering from brain or heart diseases caused by overwork. The number increased for the second consecutive year.
　仕事による過労で脳や心臓の病気になり、２０１２年度に労災認定された人は３３８人に上った。２年連続での増加だった。

In addition, a record 475 workers were recognized as suffering from mental diseases, including depression, due to overwork, a rise of nearly 50 percent from the previous year. Of them, 93 people killed or attempted to kill themselves.
　うつ病など精神疾患による労災認定も過去最多の４７５人に達し、前年より５割近く増えた。うち９３人が自殺を図っていた。

With the expanding use of computers and smartphones, people work whenever and wherever they are. According to some observers, this has contributed to the rise of work-related diseases. When employees face the pressure of work around the clock, they tend to get stressed out and lose sleep.
　パソコンやスマートフォンの普及に伴い、時間や場所にかかわりなく仕事ができるようになった。それが労災認定の増加を招いているとの指摘がある。四六時中、仕事に追われれば、ストレスや睡眠不足をもたらしやすいからだ。

Reduce working hours

The number of deaths officially recognized as work-related likely represents only the tip of the iceberg. We understand the aim of the LDP-sponsored bill to conduct a survey on the hazardous health conditions caused by overwork as a prerequisite to taking effective measures.
　労災と認定される過労死は“氷山の一角”に過ぎないだろう。実効性のある対策を講じる前提として、まずは健康被害の実態を把握しようという自民党の法案の狙いは理解できる。

However, we are not completely satisfied with the bill, as it does not address how working hours could be reduced. Changing long working hours is the most important action that can be taken to prevent deaths and suicides caused by overwork.
　ただ、法案が労働時間の短縮のあり方に触れていないのは物足りない。過労死や過労自殺を防ぐには、長時間労働の是正を進めることが何より重要である。

Japanese work longer than people in other advanced countries. As many as 4.8 million people work more than 60 hours a week in this country. They could be called potential victims of death from excessive work. Working unpaid overtime, which is not reflected in statistics, is also very common.
　他の先進国と比較し、日本人の労働時間は長い。週に６０時間以上働いている人は、４８０万人に上る。過労死の予備軍と言えよう。統計に表れない、賃金不払いのサービス残業も蔓延まんえんしている。

The government should include specific measures to reduce working hours in its outline on the prevention of death from overwork.
　大綱に時短の具体策をしっかりと盛り込むことが大切だ。

It is also necessary to review a stipulation in the Labor Standards Law that allows virtually unlimited extension of working hours if labor and the management sign an agreement.
　労働基準法の規定で、労使が協定を結べば、事実上、際限なく残業時間を延ばせる仕組みについても、再考が求められる。

The LDP-sponsored bill obliges companies to cooperate with the government’s policy measures.
　法案は、企業に対し、政府の施策に協力する責務を負わせた。

The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy and the Industrial Competitiveness Council, both government panels of experts, have proposed a new labor management system that evaluates employees based on not the length of their work hours, but on their achievements.
　政府の経済財政諮問会議と産業競争力会議は、労働時間ではなく、成果で働きを評価する新たな労働管理制度を提言した。

Though some have criticized the system for prompting employees to work even longer hours, it is also expected to end the inefficient practice of working overtime by remaining late at the office for no particular purpose.
　「長時間労働を助長する」との批判もあるが、一方で、遅くまで漫然と職場に残る非効率な残業を解消する効果も期待できよう。

Some companies have succeeded in reducing overall work hours by prohibiting overtime work at night but encouraging employees to start working earlier in the morning. Companies should work out various measures in an effort to improve productivity and cut working hours.
　早朝勤務の導入で、夜間の残業をなくし、時短につなげた企業もある。企業は生産性の向上と時短の両立に工夫を凝らすべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 18, 2014)