Temporary Workers

Due to the current worldwide recession, the manufactures such as Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi and so on have started to cut temporary workers. It is called "Haken-Giri" meaning temporary worker cutback in Japan. Government says 85K temp workers will lose their jobs over next six months, and it has become a big social issue in Japan.

I've watched the discussion between politicians and activists in TV programs.
They were saying that Japanese companies used to guarantee lifetime job security and
use the retained earnings in the economic slump instead of laying off. But the recent American type of management values ROE (Return On Equity) too much for shareholders so Japanese companies are no longer allowed to do so. Most of them were criticizing Japanese companies cutting temporary workers.

Of course, we should avoid that thousands of people become homeless after job cuts.
But it is more safety net issue that the politicians should care.
I'm not sure if the companies should be criticized on this matter, because the companies hired temporary staffs for flexible cost control. Most of the temporary workers could get the jobs because it's temporary employment contract. If not, the companies might have obtained labor forces from other countries. So the temporary employment is one of good opportunities for labors. Of course, the management is morally responsible for employment.

I do not support the system of lifetime job security, because it's too risky for companies.
On the other hand, the government should organize the social safety net immediately to avoid this social collapse.