One day Keiko got a call from one of her friends, Sachiko. Sachiko has been working for a company as some kind of specialist for the last ten years. Sachiko said that she had received a letter to ask her to sign an agreement to move to another group company.
According to Sachiko, signing the agreement means a "slow death" because the group company to which she has been told to move no longer needs full time specialists and so there is no doubt that she will be pressured to leave that group company maybe not soon, but definitely in a few years. On the other hand, refusing to sign the agreement may mean a "quick death," i.e., although being able to stay at the current company, she will be under strong pressure to leave the company immediately.
Her current company is going through restructuring. The reorganization started two years ago and is expected to continue for the next 18 months, but Sachiko thought that her job was out of the scope of downsizing. She has been working hard, passed relevant exams and managed her team efficiently and effectively.
Sachiko does not want to become a part-timer. In Japan, there is no job security for part-timers and their pay is significantly lower than that for full-time regular workers doing the same job. With about 40% of the current workforce in Japan consisting of part-timers, this is a big social issue. A class action lawsuit has been filed by part-timers to demand "same pay for same work."
Also, if you are in your over 40s, finding a new job is not easy. Japanese employers prefer "naivety" to maturity, i.e., prefer those in their 20s or 30s to experienced workers.
Sachiko has to make a decision in a few days. Keiko did not know what to say, but knew that Sachiko would choose a quick death because she had revived from a similar situation almost 25 years ago.
The only thing Keiko can do for Sachiko is to listen. Keiko knows that this could happen to anyone and that Sachiko may be Keiko in ten years.
ある日、圭子に幸子から電話が来た。幸子はある会社で専門職として10年以上勤務している。転籍同意書が送られてきて、署名してほしいと言われたらしい
幸子によると、署名は「緩慢な死」を意味するという。異動先の会社では専門職を必要としていないため、今すぐではないとしても数年後には退職圧力がかかるというのだ。一方、転籍に同意しないということは、「今すぐ死ぬ」ことを意味する。今の会社に残れはするが、途端に退職するよう強要されるらしい。
幸子の今の会社は組織改革中だ。およそ2年前から始まり、再来年に終わる。ただ、幸子は自分がその対象とは思っていなかった。勤勉で、資格も取り、リーダーとしての職責も果たしてきた。
幸子は、派遣社員にはなりたくない。正社員との「同一労働同一賃金」の問題は、訴訟が起きるほどの社会問題になっている。
それに、日本で40歳過ぎてからの職探しは難しい。経験より「若さ」が求められる中、緩慢な死を取るか、それともすぐに死ぬかの決断は容易ではないが、その決断を2～3日中に迫られている。
圭子は幸子に気の利いたことなど言えなかったが、幸子が「すぐに死ぬ」ことを選ぶのは分かっていた。25年ほど前、幸子が同じような状況で「すぐに死ぬ」決断を下し、そこから生き返ったことを圭子は覚えていた。
圭子に唯一できたこと、それは話を聞くことだ。幸子に起きたことは誰にでも起こりうる。そして幸子の今日の姿は10年後の圭子かもしれない。
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