JAPAN COURT NIXES BONUS, RETIREMENT PAY FOR NON-REGULAR WORKERS

Japan's top court rejected the provision of bonus and retirement payments to non-regular employees, saying different treatment from regular employees was not unreasonable in two closely watched cases on their pay gaps, Kyodo news reported.

The Supreme Court's No. 3 Petty Bench overturned what was then a landmark high court ruling awarding a former female employee of Osaka Medical College some 1.09 million yen ($10,285), mostly in unpaid bonuses.

Separately, the bench also upended a similar ruling that partly granted retirement payments to former employees on fixed-term contracts with Metro Commerce, a subsidiary of Tokyo Metro Co. which runs the capital's subway system.

The rulings come as a major disappointment for the growing population of non-regular workers in Japan that has topped 20 million out of all employees totalling 56 million, according to latest government data for August. The government has set a policy of equal pay for equal work but critics say it is unclear to what extent it prevents different treatment of non-regular and regular workers. Many regular workers with indefinite-term contracts in Japan are paid bonuses twice a year and are entitled to substantial payments at the retirement age of 60.