autigeremt 6,661 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 TOKYO  A Japanese labor bureau has ruled that one of Toyota's top car engineers died from working too many hours, the latest in a string of such findings in a nation where extraordinarily long hours for some employees has long been the norm. The man who died was aged 45 and had been under severe pressure as the lead engineer in developing a hybrid version of Toyota's blockbuster Camry line, said Mikio Mizuno, the lawyer representing his wife. The man's identity is being withheld at the request of his family, who continue to live in Toyota City where the company is based. In the two months up to his death, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, according to Mizuno. He regularly worked nights and weekends, was frequently sent abroad and was grappling with shipping a model for the pivotal North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he died of ischemic heart disease in January 2006. The man's daughter found his body at their home the day before he was to leave for the United States. The ruling was handed down June 30 and will allow his family to collect benefits from his work insurance, Mizuno said. An officer at the Aichi Labor Bureau on Wednesday confirmed the ruling, but declined to comment on the record. In a statement, Toyota Motor Corp. offered its condolences and said it would work to improve monitoring of the health of its workers. There is an effort in Japan to cut down on deaths from overwork, known as "karoshi." Such deaths have steadily increased since the Health Ministry first recognized the phenomenon in 1987. Last year, a court in central Japan ordered the government to pay compensation to Hiroko Uchino, the wife of a Toyota employee who collapsed at work and died at age 30 in 2002. She took the case to court after her application to the local labor bureau for compensation was rejected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 3,046 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 80 hours of overtime per month Roughly 20 hours per OT per week. Men and women working offshore work a minimum of 44 hours OT per week. That would be working 7 on & 7 off, or 14 on & 14 off. Some on the boats work 21 on and 7 off. For the most part the boat work is not as strenuous as working on the rigs. But if you are out in storms and rough water it is scary as hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCTAU 3,336 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 80 hours of overtime per month Roughly 20 hours per OT per week. Men and women working offshore work a minimum of 44 hours OT per week. That would be working 7 on & 7 off, or 14 on & 14 off. Some on the boats work 21 on and 7 off. For the most part the boat work is not as strenuous as working on the rigs. But if you are out in storms and rough water it is scary as hell. Hell, back when I traveled abroad to help install our system, I would routinely put in about 80 hours a month. Nobody gave a rat's ass about me. I think it's a little much to put in over a long period, but at times, to get ahead, you have to work extra. That is why countries such as Japan and the US continue to lead the world in certain areas of business. Everyone wants to be like Europe, but Europe leads the world in nothing prosperous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shire5k 19 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Keep in mind, the Japanese work week isn't the same as ours. I'm pretty sure their normal work week is around 50 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigeremt 6,661 Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 It's an interesting article for sure. It proves that their ideology is intact after all these years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.