28 Septembre 2014
September 24, 2014
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclearwatch/20140924.html
Some workers at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant are taking legal action. They're suing the Tokyo Electric Power Company and 16 other businesses. They say they were promised about 600 thousand dollars in overtime and hazard pay. But, say they've never seen it on their pay checks. NHK WORLD's Yoshihito Kametani reports on this edition of Nuclear Watch.
The 4 plaintiffs were hired to remove debris from the site and check tanks containing contaminated water. Two of them are still working there.
According to the lawsuit, the men were employed by TEPCO subcontractors. They allege their employers failed to pay a special allowance for hazardous work.
"We are not being fairly rewarded for our efforts."
Plaintiff
This 55-year-old plaintiff still works at Fukushima Daiichi. He normally logs in 22 days a month there. TEPCO pays an extra 200 dollars per day as a special allowance for hazardous work. This should amount to about 4,400 dollars for 22 days -- on top of the normal wage. But he takes home only about 2,200 dollars a month.
The plaintiff blames this gap on multiple layers of sub-contractors. Here's what the system looks like in his case. The company he works for is a fourth-tier subcontractor. The compensation originally paid by TEPCO is gradually reduced as each company takes its cut along the way.
The plaintiff argues that the workers' fair share of regular and hazard pay disappears in the process.
He's demanding unpaid hazard pay and overtime for a period of 2 years and 8 months.
"All the sub-contractors do is take a cut of my pay on a daily basis. There's no way I can accept that."
Plaintiff
Tsuguo Hirota is the plaintiffs' lawyer. He warns that the current system could endanger the entire decommissioning process.
"Having many layers of subcontractors means more people are taking a cut. The workers at the bottom don't get their fair share. TEPCO should be held accountable for turning a blind eye. It needs to improve labor conditions. Otherwise this situation will make it impossible to secure enough workers to deal with the nuclear accident."
Tsuguo Hirota / Plaintiffs' lawyer
TEPCO officials say they will examine the claims and respond accordingly. But they say they're not thinking about hiring workers directly at this point.
The amount of work required to decommission Fukushima Daiichi continues to grow -- and so does the demand for workers.
The number of people working at the facility has nearly doubled in one year, reaching almost 6-thousand per day in July.
The government and TEPCO say decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi may take as long as 4 decades. This lawsuit may force them to reconsider the way workers there are paid to ensure the supply of qualified laborers doesn't evaporate.