Speaking legal English. Борисова Л.А. - 54 стр.

      8. What problems may women face as far as employment is concerned?
      9. What should the retirement age be? Should pensioners work?

      Reading and Speaking
      Exercise 4. Read the text and answer the questions.

     There are fewer employment laws in Japan than in many Western countries.
Few workers are given clear job descriptions or written contracts and it is
unusual for an employee to take legal action against his employer. The main law
about sexual discrimination simply asks employers to make efforts to reduce
discrimination, without imposing clear duties or penalties. However, as in other
aspects of Japanese society, it is not clear if the low level of legal activity
necessarily means that employees have fewer rights. It certainly seems to be the
case that workers have to work very long hours and often do not ask for
overtime payment. Despite the current labor shortage, which has encouraged
employers to hire women to do more responsible and better paid work than
before, very few women enjoy equal employment opportunities. In addition,
many jobs remain closed to workers of non-Japanese origin, even those who
have lived all their lives in Japan. On the other hand, Japanese workers enjoy
more security than many employees in western countries. Once hired, they are
unlikely to be dismissed. Insurance benefits and recreational facilities are
usually made available to them by their companies, and many workers are able
to live in big cities only because their employers provide low-cost
accommodation for them.
       One legal development in Japan which has yet to spread to western
countries is law suits against the employers of workers who had died of
karoushi—not a specific accident in the workplace or industrial-related disease,
but general stress brought about by overwork. In 1992, the widow of a Mitsui
Company employee was awarded ¥30 million in compensation after a court
learned that her husband had been spending 103 days a year away from home on
stressful business trips before his sudden death.

      1.   What disadvantages do many Japanese workers face?
      2.   What benefits do many Japanese workers enjoy?
      3.   Would you personally like to work in Japan?
      4.   What is the situation like in western countries?

     Exercise 5. Make a presentation on the topic «How to reduce
unemployment rate».




                                      54