Kansai Electric boss summoned after employee's overwork suicide
The labor ministry took an unusual step by summoning the president, rather than issuing an industry-wide directive, to clamp down on excessive working hours at Kansai Electric Power Co.
Shigeki Iwane was instructed by the Fukui Labor Bureau in Fukui to rein in long working hours at his company in light of the suicide of a managerial employee in April. The man's death was recognized as due to overwork.
The section chief in his 40s was in charge of dealing with screenings by the nation's nuclear watchdog for Kansai Electric's two aging reactors at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture to decide whether their operations can be extended for up to 20 years.
Sources said Iwane presented himself Jan. 6 as requested and was handed a written instruction on the management of working hours.
It required the company to accurately gauge the working hours of all its employees, including those in managerial positions, and provide them with the opportunity to consult with an industrial doctor if they were putting in long hours.
“It is extremely rare (for labor authorities) to summon the head of a particular company to issue instructions instead of issuing instructions to the entire industry,” said Koji Morioka, professor emeritus of Kansai University, who is well-versed on the issue of "karoshi," or death from overwork.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201701160070.html
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