World briefs

Flextime not big in Japan

Tokyo
— Contrary to the government’s wishes, some Japanese companies are ending flextime systems because they reduce productivity, according to a story in The Japan Times. Earlier this year the government called on companies to adopt flextime practices to allow working fathers to spend more time with their children. But companies like Canon, Sharp and Fujitsu are scaling back their flex programs. “Research and development requires working in groups, but with the current system, the hours that people can get together are limited, and it is difficult to hold meetings,” said a spokesperson for Canon, explaining why the company wants to end the system it introduced in 1991 where employees had to be together for core hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then set their own hours between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Really hard bargaining

Harare, Zimbabwe
— The CEO of a Zimbabwe security company was taken hostage for six days by a group of his workers, only being released after agreeing to pay them the more than (Cdn) $6 million they claimed they were owed as part of a severance package. The security guards claimed the CEO was planning to leave the country without paying the laid-off employees their severance, according to a report in the Daily News of Zimbabwe. The company’s leaders said paying the money will force them to shut down.

Drug testing at work

Dublin
— Employees should be tested for drugs because health and safety in the workplace is more important than civil liberties, a leading addiction expert told a group of Irish EAP professionals last month. Stephen Rowan, director of the addiction treatment facility Rutland Centre, said even casual use away from work is a problem because “if it is in their system during the working day, there is a belief it impairs their reflex times and their judgment.” He also said workers who are dependent on chemical drugs claim three times as many sickness benefits and five times as many workers compensation claims, reports the Irish Examiner.

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