Working conditions have been declining at many firms in recent years as the economic slump drags on, and especially hard-hit have been those with "temporary" status, as they face falling wages and shortened contracts.
But as their overall ranks swell amid moves by firms to shed their full-time staff, efforts are also afoot to organize the part-time ranks in a bid to improve their lot.
Formed in mid-May, the Jinzai (Human Resources) Services General Union, Japan's first-ever blanket union covering short-term employees, now has 18,000 members, including 12,000 registered at temp staff agencies, 4,000 "short-term" workers directly under contract with companies and 2,000 full-time employees at temp agencies, many of which have no union for full-time staff.