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Article

20 Apr 2020

Author:
Kyodo News

Japan: Labour unions report increasing cases of workplace harassment with COVID-19 outbreak

"Coronavirus outbreak sparks harassment at workplaces in Japan", 20 April 2020

As coronavirus fears grip Japan, labor unions are receiving a growing number of reports from people who have faced discrimination at the hands of their bosses and harassment by customers frustrated with merchandise shortages.

A 73-year-old woman working at a manufacturing company in Nara, western Japan, said her boss shouted for her colleague to stop asking the woman to eat a meal together in early April. She also found out that the same boss had told another colleague to stay away from her.

"I can only think of the novel coronavirus as the reason. I am commuting from Osaka," where the number of infections has been growing, she said...

The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the country's largest labor organization also known as Rengo, said it had received reports of virus-linked harassment that included a boss spraying sanitizer at a subordinate and a fresh recruit being told to come to the office as usual because young people were at lower risk of becoming serious ill from the virus...

A survey by the National Supermarket Association of Japan in March revealed harassment by customers was also on the rise as people take out their frustration on shop workers when products they want such as face masks are sold out.

There was a case in which a customer called a store every time a delivery truck arrived, demanding its workers restock shelves as soon as possible. Others reported customers making complaints based on rumors...

There have also been cases of discrimination against medical workers and a persistent view among people that individuals become infected with the virus because of their own fault...