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The family of a JR West employee who committed suicide earlier this month, is filing a lawsuit against the railway company.
According to the case files, the 28-year-old employee was in charge of managing signaling equipment and had been working for over half a year, clocking up 100 hours of forced overtime a month, Fuji TV reported. His family was quoted as saying that during some months, he worked over 254 hours of overtime.
A JR West spokesman told media: "We were unaware that an employee had been working such long hours. This is a case of poor management."
However, the spokesman said JR West is disputing the case on the grounds that they believe there is no relation between the long hours and the employee's suicide, Fuji reported.
© Japan Today
6 Comments
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Amidalism
I'm sorry but I don't see how JR can be held accountable for this. If the work was too much for the man he easily could have quit his job or spoke out about his excessive overtime. I know it is not normal in Japanese society to be the nail that sticks out, however better that than ending your own life, no? Hope this case gets thrown out as the family looking for a scapegoat for their spineless drone of a son.
pointofview
@Amidalism,
They broke the law. There is a law stating the maximum O/T that can worked. You dont just quit a job and find another at the snap of your fingers. Its called thuggery by a large company. The law is the law , if you break it you get charged. As I said before, Japan needs a little more love.
mataka
It is a very sad story and understandable that the family would take such action. JR is ultimately to blame but it is highly likely that senior staff were in fact unaware of the situation. However, in the eyes of the law, they must be held responsible and this will force companies to have a system of checks and balances to limit overworking. It is a great shame that ordinary working folks find it easier to die than to simply quit the job. This is the real issue which the government needs to address.
minello7
A JR West spokesman told media: “We were unaware that an employee had been working such long hours. This is a case of poor management.” and that is why you are being sued. Seems poor management is always trying to spread the blame.
Bear27840
Poor management starts at the top and works down.
all4faj
You can get life insurance in Japan that pays out for suicide , if he had that , then his family would be compensated financially and their reason for suing would be to aportion the blame. Yes the company have a duty of care to their employees , but if you are a family man you have a duty of care to your family as well.