[AMERICA 123]

Originally Posted by Stéphane Dumas

How long before we discover then Honda (lots of radio ads here said they're the "more greener"), also have some skeletons in the closet as well?

There is possibly a hint of that in terms of a contract or temporary Japanese national working in Japan - towards both Honda and Nissan.

In the report, reference is made to how Japanese nationals are recruited from the 'countryside' and also how they are abused in a lesser way.

Anyway, an agency ( that also figures large in the abuse itself) supplied a subcontractor that was dividing output as follows; 80% Toyota, 20% Honda and Nissan.

Not much to go - so far.

Subcontract Workers Also Cheated

To cut costs, auto parts plants all across Aichi prefecture are turning to subcontract workers, who often make up a third of the workforce and earn less than half of what full time workers do.

Employment agencies across Japan recruit subcontract workers to relocate to Aichi Prefecture to work in auto parts plants supplying Toyota and other auto companies.

One such agency, based in Okinowa, called K.K.K. Sanua Staff, told new recruits they would receive a signing bonus of 300,000 Yen ($2,970), would work from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and earn a base wage of $2,970 a month.

It was all a lie.

Once they relocated to the parts factory in Aichi, they were given less than 20 percent of the bonus guaranteed to them, and their wages were one third lower than they agreed to; workers earned just $1,197 a month and not the $2,970 base wage they were supposed to make.

Under these conditions, the subcontract workers would earn just $14,365 a year.

Eighty percent of the factories’ production went to Toyota, with the other 20 percent split between Nissan and Honda.

Of the total of slightly more than 300 workers, 100, or one third were hired as subcontract workers.

The subcontract workers were not only paid less, they were also assigned the most dangerous jobs.

One of the subcontract workers we spoke with handled strong and potentially toxic adhesives while making brake cables.

He used a glue – any contact of which would peel off his skin – to secure the plastic top to the brake cable.

The Subcontract workers were also cheated and forced to pay exorbitant rents for company housing.

Management charged $400 to $640 a month for a tiny apartment, which in the market would cost much less.