The gigification of labour in Japan

[thomas]

SNA on the false freedom of the gig economy in Japan: despite being glorified as being free from corporate shackles and as working on one's terms, being free-lanced in Japan is anything but glorious.

Japan had over 4.6 million gig workers (freelancers) as of May 2020, according to a Cabinet Secretariat survey. The number is growing in many different industries. The government has devised no plan nor any concrete measures to deal with the growing gig economy. Although these gig workers work just like "regular" workers do, they lose all their rights when corporations invoke the magic word "freelance." The gigification of labor is advancing on all fronts and it should plant the fear in our hearts that the gains which previous generations of workers around the world struggled to achieve for over a century, for which many bled and died, is now slipping away.

A verdict of the Tokyo District Court in a case of sexual harassment from 25 May 2022 now appears to change the legal status of gig workers, freelancers, and independent contractors. It affords them almost the same legal protection as regular employees. Hopefully, this verdict is a step toward more legal safeguards for Japan's 4.6 million freelancers (as of May 2020).

Bread & Roses: The False Freedom of the Gig Economy – SNA Japan

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