As early as this year, hundreds of thousand of sports enthusiasts, potential spectators and participants are already looking forward to the much awaited 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games. The Japanese government are also preoccupied in preparation measures to ensure public safety as well as the smooth flow of the multi national sports events.
In implementing their plans for the Tokyo Olympics, the organizing committee of the international sports event in coordination with Japanese local government intend to hire a number of workers who will be manning various sites and venues where the upcoming Olympic games will be held. The Sports Council of Japan which is a national government body is currently constructing a stadium worth more than a billion dollars while the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is undertaking the establishment of the Olympic Village.
With this in mind, an international labor union seeks to conduct an investigation in Japan to determine the safety of workers and the utilization of overseas workers in view of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The said union plans to inspect various locations for the games and conduct an interview with the existing workers of these ongoing construction sites.
This investigation which will be carried out by the international labor union stemmed from a report earlier published in 2019 entitled “The Dark Side of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.” Said report revealed the tendency of overwork and questionable provisions of contracts in relation to foreign workers.
General Secretary Ambet Yuson said that they will be implementing “construction audit or a joint inspection” in cooperation with the officials of the organizing committee, the Sports Council of Japan and Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
According to Secretary Yuson, “They are overprotective and don’t want the outside to come in. They are trying to downplay it, saying construction is almost over. But it’s not over until the Olympics are over. Construction is dangerous and every worker you save makes a difference.”
Reference: Int’l labor union wants Tokyo Olympic venue inspection, worker interviews
