London Times: Apparent Suicide Stuns Toyota Factory Floor

Sad.

Bob Wilson

 

The unfortunate end of a temp worker.

They`re sent in by another introduction company, and are never a regular employee... So when things go downhill, they are always the first to lose their jobs. I have a feeling this man was part of a temporary work force called in to increase production - and saw that the end of his time there was coming to an end. At his age, it would be hard to find new employment somewhere else...

Release of temporary workers is a big issue now in Japan because of the economy. Previously, long term temporary workers would often be invited on as permanent employees. Many workers would sign up for temporary work because they had poor skills for finding a job right away... All with the assumption that it would be temporary suffering and that they`d be invited on as a full employee when the temporary contract ended. But that is not part of their contract - it is only a guarantee of temporary work during that period. Not of receiving a full contract at the end.
So there are now a lot of disappointed temporary workers who thought that they would be signed on for good... But who have not been and are now without a job. There is the option of looking for another temporary position, but after a certain age it is guaranteed to always be temporary. (Start at 40 for 10 years temporary contract, and no company will invite someone at 50 for just 10 or 15 years of work to pay out full retirement.) So many of these people find themselves depressed at the thought of not receiving retirement...

This man just made big news by killing himself inside the factory instead of at home.

 

I wonder if they will clean and sell that particular Prius.

 

It was reported to have been taken and disposed of by hazardous material crews, as there would be no way to purge it of the poisonous chemicals.

I imagine that the engine and battery parts will be removed and used elsewhere though.

It is most likely that the interior will be destroyed, but parts will be sold as "used" parts.

 

Hydrogen sulphide is really stinky, so you probably couldn't reuse the plastic and cloth parts. The rest of the car would be okay. On the other hand, it might not be cost effective to take it apart and clean it.

Tom

 

Not only will they sell it but:

Notoriety Surcharge: $1100.00

 

There have been articles recently about long time Japanese suppliers to Toyota that have been loyal producers for Toyota becoming disgruntled or even outright severing ties with Toyota based on Toyota reportedly tightening the screws beyond acceptability (according to the suppliers).

We don't have any information as to "why" this man decided to commit suicide, but Japan seems to have a disproportionate number of suicides.

"In the past Toyota workers have described unhappy working conditions at some of the company’s plants in Japan.
Tadao Wakatsuki, chairman of the All Toyota Labour Union, has accused the company of deliberately playing down what he sees as an unusually high level of suicides and illness on the factory floor."- London Times Article

It's sad. I wonder what the numbers really are?

The article said that the suicide apparently happened in the hour before the morning shift began. I'm kind of suprised that in an active automotive production plant the person was able to be isolated and unobserved long enough to execute the suicide. Just doesn't seem like the most logical choice of an enviroment. There's also no apparent information that his choice of location was meant as a statement. But even if it was meant as a statement against Toyota, I'm sure this is something Toyota would down play and cover up as much as possible.

But the "investigative" nature of myself wonders why you would choose the Production Plant of Toyota as the enviroment as opposed to a private location?

I suppose the counter logic is someone planning/executing a suicide is NOT thinking logically.....

 

Someone died to make a statement about the Japanese hakan (temp employee) system. They use it to avoid paying full benefits and severence pay. US has its own social issues, Japan has their own shares.

 

We have been doing the same for years in the U.S. In the engineering world, special laws were enacted to try and put a stop to it, not that they really helped.

Tom

 

I don't understand why you would use Hydrogen Sulfide. Seems like a rather unpleasant way to go. I'd prefer something much faster myself.

 

This is a very sad story, not just for this one worker but for the relatives of the 30,000 suicide victims per year in Japan.

Something needs looking at to stop this trend. I don't know what but I hope it happens soon.

Suicide is never the answer.

 

it's a difficult situation. sometimes it's a greedy employer, sometimes, it's an economic reality. there probably is no solution except a decent government safety net.

 

But generally there's no real stigma (for U.S. engineers) associated with being a contractor. Some people prefer it because of the flexibility it allows, and if you negotiate correctly you get paid a higher hourly rate since you have to take care of your own benefits. I've done both in my career. Some companies have apparently over-used this in places where they are the dominant employer, but otherwise market forces keep it in check.

 

In Japan, it tends to be viewed as shortsighted for just those reasons. The contracts tend to be for lower overall pay, but appear much higher because it is the responsibility of the worker to pay their own health insurance pension, and to save for unemployment and retirement. Health insurance and pension are both national - so are pretty much the same cost for everyone. Health benefits are not included in the Japanese package of worker benefits - it`s a national system that everyone is enrolled in regardless of employment. But it is still not free, so you have to pay for it with taxes. When employed, it is deducted automatically bit by bit each month... But with that sort of arrangement you get paid the amount with no deduction and it is up to you to say the money to pay at tax time. It`s not really something bad on the part of the system.
It`s the retirement benefits that are the important ones, along with severance pay. There is no severance pay for these workers as they sign up as temporary. There are also no company retirement benefits should they reach retirement age - only national pension. Usually for a normal there is a large flat payment based on years of work from the company upon reaching retirement.

From my view, it`s generally a very short sighted system. It looks great on paper when compared to a regular job, so many people jump to sign up with contracting companies instead of doing the work to find a normal job or taking one that may not be exactly what they wanted... Often thinking that they`ll be able to just leave later and take a better position when one comes along. But once they start actual usable income is lower because they have to pay their own stuff, and there isn`t enough leftover to save and live on while looking for something better. So they end up crossing their fingers that they`ll get signed on in the end like was common years and years ago - and before you know it 10, 20, 30 years have passed and there isn`t anywhere willing to take you on as a starting employee. And when the economy turns bad, haken workers just don`t have their contracts renewed. As they`re not "fired" there is no severance to pay. The contract simply ends and work is done. The damage is particularly bad for those who have company supplied housing - dorms are common for factory positions. When the contract ends, your house also ends.

My husband received offers from two different places for haken positions when he graduated. Both offered a lot more in pay than any other companies. But he had the sense to do the math and think far ahead so turned both of them down and went for a normal position. Now he makes twice what he`d have been making if he`d gone with the haken, as it is a set pay model without raises.

As to why this man killed himself in the factory in a car... He was probably a dorm housed worker without a car of his own. There are problems with killing yourself this way and having it kill others - which would be a bigger issue in a dorm with many small rooms. Plus he may have even had a roommate making it very difficult.
It is also said to be easiest to die quickly in the small confines of a car, so why not use one of the many available there?
If it was a statement against Toyota, it was likely because of them not offering to renew his contract for another 5 or 10 years. Not because of workplace disgruntlement.

 

If what Mr. Toyoda said is correct and the company is seeing quality slip because of their rapid growth, this incident is indicative of the problems they are having on the factory floor. It is all related.

 

Is this the guy who lost his lucky charm that caused my shifter to jam?

Corporations in the US do the same thing. Regular employees are terminated & replaced by temps. Contract through an agency & there aren't any employment tax problems. Why do you think the Chamber of Commerce is lobbying for more H1B visas?

 

I thought Auris HSD is going to build and launch there soon. That should more jobs!

 

That is a difference between Japanese and American contractors. Here the contract is generally a few months at a time, it's unusual to work more than 3 years at a place as a contractor. So either the workplace has a temporary need for certain positions, or it's a way to to see if there's a good fit between employer and employee (and you eventually move to direct employment), but you don't really expect to work there for years.

Of course, nowadays, even the "permanent" employees don't expect to work there indefinitely. There's always layoffs, plant closings, you find better work elsewhere, a reason to move geographically, etc. I've worked 7 jobs in 4 states in less than 20 years. Unfortunately, every employer has their own retirement plan, so either you roll those into a personal plan or you end up with a hodge-podge of accounts. I've been at this job nearly 5 years which is a long time, but I still like it.