mai yokoyama

A national survey on the compensation and working conditions of counselors irregularly employed at privatized Gender Equality Centers was conducted using mailed questionnaires. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain in―depth information on wages and working conditions. Compared to the national survey data from 2012, the results of the latest survey showed that counselors’ compensation has deteriorated, despite an increased number of jobs. From a case-study approach, it was shown that counselors’ wages were not related to the extent of jobs they perform, the number of cases they counsel, or the wages of government officers who are in regular employment. Moreover, there were unpaid counselors at centers in the same municipality where the wages of government officers in regular employment were higher than the national average. Most interviewees argued that their wages were affected by labor costs which were based on the local government estimated budgets. Centers where the labor cost was calculated based on the minimum wages of psychological specialists led to relatively better wages of counselors. On the contrary, some local governments decided labor costs based on the minimum wage in the municipality. To conclude, wages of counselors have not been determined consistently based on some criteria.