A woman in her 60s who worked as a live-in housekeeper died after working long hours, but the family of the bereaved sued the government on the grounds that it was unfair that workers' compensation was not recognized. It will be handed down at the Tokyo District Court on the day.
By law, housekeepers are exempt from industrial accidents, but the focus is on how the courts will determine the actual conditions of their labor.
Seven years ago, a 68-year-old woman registered with a company in Tokyo as a housekeeper and home-visit nursing care helper. later died.
The woman's husband filed for workers' compensation claiming that her wife had been working almost non-stop, but the housekeeper was denied because she was not covered by workers' compensation, and filed a complaint against the government.
According to the Labor Standards Act, housekeepers who work at home are not covered by work-related accidents because their working style is different from that of ordinary workers. In that case, it will be subject to workers' compensation.
At the trial, the point of contention was whether or not her work as a housekeeper was work ordered by the company. On the other hand, the government argued that ``the only business as a company was nursing care, and housework was done under the instructions of the user.''
The judgment is scheduled to be handed down at the Tokyo District Court on the afternoon of the 29th, and the focus is on how the court will judge the actual state of labor.
“People who do housework should be positioned as workers.”
The woman died seven years ago in 2015 at the age of 68.
According to her now 75-year-old husband, the woman has been working as a housekeeper since around the age of 50, and was registered as a housekeeper and home care helper at a company in Tokyo at the time.
She lived in the home of an elderly person who required nursing care level 5 for one week, and the next day she collapsed at a bathing facility in Tokyo and died at the hospital to which she was transported.
During this time, the woman had been working night and day to care for her family and doing housework, and her husband filed for workers' compensation.
However, the Labor Standards Inspection Office did not recognize work-related accidents.
That was why her husband was incredulous.
The document prepared by the inspection office stated that "domestic workers are exempt from the Labor Standards Act, so workmen's compensation does not apply."
Her husband says, "She was a wife who worked hard at any job. It would be frustrating if a wife who worked so hard told me that you weren't a worker."
Two years ago, her husband filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging that workers' compensation was unjustified.
The husband hopes that his wife will be recognized as an industrial accident, and through this trial, he hopes that the society will become a place where people who do housework are properly positioned as workers regardless of their working style. .
Before the ruling, she said, "Many domestic workers, domestic servants, and housekeepers continue to be discriminated against. I just want everyone who works in a respectable profession to be legally protected and compensated." I was talking to
There is also a movement to review the provisions of the Labor Standards Act
The Labor Standards Act, which establishes the minimum standards for working conditions, stipulates that the Labor Standards Act does not apply to those who work as domestic servants, so-called housekeepers.
According to a provision from 1947 when the law was promulgated, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare stated, ``Since the working hours and other working styles of people who work at home are quite different from those of ordinary workers, it is not possible to apply them uniformly. It's not appropriate," he said.
On the other hand, regarding this provision, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued a notice in 1988 stating that ``whether or not a worker is a domestic servant is determined by looking at the actual situation of the worker, taking into consideration the type and nature of the work to be engaged in''.
If an employee is hired by a business operator and performs housework under the direction of the employer, the Labor Standards Act will apply and the worker will be subject to workers' compensation.
In 1993, a panel of academic experts gathered by the Minister of Labor at the time to study problems in the Labor Standards Act compiled a report stating that it was appropriate to abolish the regulations. was given.
According to lawyers and organizations that support bereaved families, those who had such discussions were called ``maids'', and the business style that was hired by the family to take care of all household chores changed to ``housework agency''. It seems that the background is that the nature of workers has become stronger as the number of cases where the content of work and wages are decided through the intermediary has increased.
However, the statute itself still exists.
Since 2018, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has made individuals who do housework eligible for special enrollment in industrial accident insurance.
According to the 2015 national census, there were 11,070 housekeepers (husbands) who received wages in exchange for housework, although the details of their employment status are unknown.