Power Harassment by the State” Melancholy of Hello Work Employees Who Lose Their Jobs Every Three Years

The National Network of Non-regular Women in Public Service (Hamnet) conducted a survey of non-regular employees working in public service fields nationwide from May 2, and completed it on June 4. The results will be tabulated at the end of this month. The second survey, conducted last year, received 715 responses. Hamunet is seeking job and livelihood stability for non-regular public service workers in preparation for the House of Councilors election in July.

As unemployment is prolonged due to the Corona disaster, Hello Work (Public Employment Security Offices) are a reassuring presence that listens to users’ concerns about their livelihood while assessing their aptitude and offering job placement assistance. Hello Work is also the last safety net to support those who have difficulty in finding employment, as it serves as a contact point for measures taken by each prefectural labor bureau in response to the employment and unemployment situation.

However, Hello Work employees, who are in a position to relieve users of unemployment, are not actually protecting their own employment either. The reality is that part-time Hello Work employees are being forced out of their jobs and suffering mental anguish as a result of a system that has been called “power harassment by the government.

Midori Hamana (a pseudonym), who works at Hello Work, requested a transfer to the counseling service because of a phone call she received about seven years ago.

The caller was a man who had lost his job and at the same time his income had been cut off, and he was in arrears on his electricity bill for a long time. His electricity had been cut off, and he asked if the government could somehow assist him. The man had a child.

Mr. Hamana, who was working in a different department at the time, simply told the man to consult with city hall or other authorities and hung up the phone. What happened to the man after that is not known.

I couldn’t do or say anything,” she said. She felt frustrated and left with nothing more than her own frustration.

I have always regretted what happened to him. I wanted to be able to listen to him slowly, find a job that suited him, and introduce him to employment.

This one phone call led Mr. Hamana to the counseling department, where he has consulted with many clients and helped them find jobs. He has counseled many clients and helped them find jobs.

Sometimes he has paved a new path for them by helping them acquire qualifications through vocational training, and “it is very rewarding” when he sees them find the job they had envisioned for themselves, Hamana says.

Sometimes they come to me to report their employment, and that makes me happy.

It was through Hello Work that Mr. Hamana himself found this job. It was close to her home, she had weekends off, and she did not have to work overtime. She first used Hello Work when she had reached the end of her child-rearing years and found a job that suited her perfectly. Even though it was just a coincidence, she came to love her job so much that she even said, “I feel as if it is my life’s work, and I find it very rewarding.

However, there was an unexpected pitfall.

He was hired on a short-term, one-year contract. The contract is renewed every year, but the maximum is set at three years, after which time the company must try to recruit openly. Although he is a 13-year veteran of the company, he is not given special treatment because of his experience. Every three years, he submits his resume and waits to see if he is hired, mingling with applicants from the outside.

Although Mr. Hamana was transferred once from another department, he has since been “fortunate” to return to the employment mediation department of his choice.

In fact, however, “many of my colleagues have not, and some cannot return. It’s complicated.”