The Japanese House of Representatives passed a bill on temporary labor.

On September 11, the Japanese House of Representatives passed a labor bill allowing companies to employ temporary workers indefinitely if they rotate their jobs every three years.

Japanese workers are employed in a car manufacturing plant. (Source: japantimes.co.jp)

The bill is an amendment to the labor dispatch law and has also been passed by the Japanese Senate.

This is considered a crucial first step in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's labor market development strategy.

The bill has the support of lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, the New Komeito Party (NKP).

The law will take effect on September 30th.

Japanese Labor Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki said the law will help temporary workers find desired jobs and will facilitate their transition to permanent employment.

According to current labor law, the term of employment for temporary workers through recruitment agencies cannot exceed 3 years for the same job, except for 26 jobs requiring specialized skills such as interpreters and secretaries.

By removing the three-year time limit, the amended law will allow employers, after a contract expires, to continue employing temporary workers for the same position, provided they hire different workers every three years and respect the workers' opinions.

For temporary workers who have been doing the same job for three consecutive years, the recruitment agencies involved will have to ask the employer to either continue the direct contract or find a new temporary job for that worker.

The new law also requires brokerage firms to obtain government licenses before they can begin operations and will subject them to strict supervision.

As of June 2014, Japan had approximately 1.26 million temporary workers.

According to Vietnam+