Scientists nearing their 10-year work anniversaries at Japanese universities and institutes find themselves in a difficult position, as their employers are preparing to lay them off instead of offering them the permanent employment promised to them by a 2013 labor law, Science and Nature report.
Over the past 30 years, the Japanese government sought to bolster its scientific research programs, especially at government-funded institutes like RIKEN, but ran into roadblocks due to apprehension over adding a significant number of permanent employees to the federal payroll, Science reports. Instead, many scientists were hired with what’s called a fixed-term contract, which treated them as temporary, with lesser benefits and lower salaries than they’d earn under long-term employment.
A 2013 labor law guaranteed workers on fixed-term contracts the right to request permanent employment after five years on the job, according to Nature, although that was later extended to 10 years for many researchers. Now that the 10-year anniversary of that law is approaching next March, however, universities and institutes—RIKEN included—say they plan to lay off those fixed-term researchers instead, exploiting a loophole that will save them from having to offer full employment.
Data from Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology suggests that 3,100 researchers on fixed-term contracts will have reached their 10-year thresholds by the end of March, reports Nature,...
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