Decontamination firms violate work regulations

March 18, 2014

Fukushima decontamination firms violate work rules

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140318_22.html

Labor officials in Fukushima Prefecture say they have found violations at nearly 70 percent of companies doing decontamination work after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

The prefecture's Labor Bureau conducted spot inspections from July to December last year at 660 businesses in the prefecture.

It says it found illegal violations at 446, or 67.6 percent of the companies. 742 cases involved failure to explain wages or hours in writing, or not properly paying overtime and other wages.

363 cases involved safety and health, such as not properly using dust-filtering masks and dosimeters, or not giving workers health checkups.
The bureau carried out another survey covering 387 businesses from January to July last year and says it found violations at 68 percent of the companies.

A bureau official said it will give warnings to the violators to correct their practices. If the working conditions are not improved, stricter measures will be considered, including reporting businesses to prosecutors.

Mar. 18, 2014 - Updated 03:14 UTC