Japanese Workers Now Suing their Companies
A poster from the forum alluded to in this strip posted the following article about Japanese salarymen learning to fight for their rights. It’s quite revolutionary if you think about it because in Japan, the executives just dictate and the subordinate follow without question. That is one reason why Japanese corporations are so strong–because of this one-way flow. There are stories of salarymen naming their company as a beneficiary in their insurance policies. Some are even known to die from overworking. These deaths are so common that they actually have a word for it already–karoshi. Loyalty is nice and all–if you’re following a benevolent leader. Some Japanese execs of course caught on to this and exploited their employees’s blind loyalty and faith.
But now some are learning to fight back. They love their job and all but there’s only so much bullshit one can take from management.
Japan’s salarymen, famous for their work ethic and their corporate loyalty, fueled this nation’s industrial rise. But more recently, they have borne the brunt of its economic decline, enduring lower wages, job insecurity and long hours of unpaid overtime.
Link to the New York Times article
Local companies with Japanese mother companies are straddling a very thin line, until of course some one takes a lead. To all Filipinos out there, Happy Independence Day.
