Continued corporate restructuring in Japan has taken a heavy toll on regular workers. One result of this is a sharp increase in the number of "irregular" workers, such as part-timers and temporaries. Now they number about 15 million, representing a third of the labor force; in the case of women, one in two is a irregular. More and more of these nonpermanent employees are doing practically the same jobs -- and assuming practically the same responsibilities -- as permanent employees.

The fact remains, however, that a wide gap exists in wages and other conditions of employment between these two groups of employees. Worse, the gap continues to widen, reflecting a tight labor market. "Equal work, equal pay" is a universal principle, of course, although this is easier said than done. To correct the disparity, fair rules of employment need to be established for irregular staff.

In earlier times, employers hired irregular workers to meet temporary business demands or fill positions that required relatively easy or simple work. Now their primary aim is to cut payroll costs, as shown by a recent labor ministry survey. Thus employers increasingly are trying to replace higher-paying regular jobs with irregular ones that pay less.