May 3, 2015

Lawson to offer long-term jobs to Fukushima evacuees nationwide

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201505030022

By NORIYOSHI OTSUKI/ Senior Staff Writer

Convenience store chain operator Lawson Inc. will be hiring evacuees from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster to work at its outlets as well as offer them future employment after returning to their hometowns.

It marks a rare endeavor to help displaced people land a long-term job contract in a broader region after the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident forced them to evacuate, according to experts.

“People can acquire job skills while working at a Lawson outlet in evacuation and take advantage of their expertise by continuing to work at a Lawson store near their homes after their return,” said a senior Lawson official.

The initiative is expected to help evacuees financially as tens of thousands are still living away from their homes and facing economic difficulties amid the prolonged evacuation.

Lawson, which faces a chronic shortage of workers, will also likely benefit from the arrangement. The chain has 12,000 outlets nationwide.

Positions available are as cashiers at Lawson outlets and making boxed meals at business partners’ factories. Distributing products is a possibility in the future.

The program followed an agreement Lawson reached with FLIP, a private organization assisting evacuees in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, on a framework for assistance in April.

Those eligible are 46,000 nuclear disaster evacuees who are now living outside Fukushima Prefecture.

The program is also targeted at people who have evacuated to various sites in the nation at their own initiative from prefectures other than Fukushima to avoid radiation exposure, as well as evacuees from the quake and tsunami from prefectures other than Fukushima.

FLIP, whose F stands for "family, friends, future, Fukushima," and LIP for "live in peace," will call on support groups for evacuees across the nation to gather information on job seekers and relay the information to Lawson Staff in Niigata, which handles dispatching workers to outlets and job training.

Lawson Staff will refer applicants to stores and conclude contracts between workers and stores.

Lawson Staff is also expected to make arrangements for evacuees to continue working at outlets near their new homes when they relocate.

Most workers under the program will start with nonregular employee status, but can be hired as regular employees, depending on their job skills.