Saitama Employment Support Business Closed Over Non-Payment of Wages to People with Disabilities

From FNN

March 12 2024

SAITAMA – It has been discovered that a business that provides employment support for people with disabilities closed down because it did not pay wages to people with disabilities.

A woman who used the company’s office in Koshigaya City, Saitama spoke in an interview.

She said, “The hardest part is not being paid for the work I do. It’s frustrating. I feel like I have no choice but to give up.”

She was paid 930 Yen an hour and earned her wages by spending two hours a day caring for killifish that were sold to pet shops and other stores.

The facility that was recently closed was a continued employment support center in Saitama Prefecture run by a company called “Bell Employment Support,” which provided support for people with disabilities who have difficulty finding employment at regular companies.

Although the nameplate of the closed Koshigaya office still remained, tape had been pasted over the top to hide the name, and the intercom had broken down.

Users were informed of the closure of the business at the morning meeting on May 25, 2023.

The woman said, “Along with the news that the office was closed, I have not been paid approximately 83,000 yen in wages for the two months of April and May.”

Female victim: “There’s something like a morning assembly, and at that time I said, “It’s a bit of sudden, but we’re closing today.” But we’ll be open until a few days in June, so if you want to come, you can come. However, I was told at the morning assembly that I would not be paid wages.

According to Koshigaya City, the business submitted a notification of closure to the city at the end of May, and was closed on June 8th.

The reason for the closure was stated in the closure notice as “management issues.”

At the back of the building where the business was located, racks that appeared to have been used to raise medaka fish were lined up outside.

The operation of employment support establishments was covered by public funds, with the city providing approximately 1 million yen per month to the establishments.

It is believed that the public funds were used to cover the operating costs of the business, but the representative has not yet been contacted by phone.

It appears that the users have not yet been paid their wages and have fled in the middle of the night.

Victim: “I wonder how you feel about living every day. That’s the only thing you can do. Please pay all the unpaid bills that are owed to everyone.”

Koshigaya City and two other cities have also said they are unable to understand the situation because they have not been able to contact business representatives, but have said they will consider measures to take.