Union’s survey reveals municipal workers’ overtime and staff shortage as its cause

Fukuoka－A union of Kitakyushu City municipal workers conducted a survey on overtime of those working at the city hall on February 12, 2025.

The union distributed a questionnaire to each workplace earlier on that day and collected them in the evening when workers, including union members, left their office.

To a question in the questionnaire asking if each section was staffed according to their workload, 48.8% of the respondents answered, “No”. Some respondents commented, “I work overtime almost every day and can’t even take a day off,” and, “Our workload is increasing, but the number of workers is not.”

The union also surveyed how many workers recorded their clock-out time. As it found out that 63 of 308 workers (about 20%) went home without recording the time, they might have worked unpaid overtime.

During past negotiations, city authorities stated that they were appropriately assigning personnel while exchanging opinions with each section. However, no improvements have been seen. The union continues to conduct such surveys and negotiate with the authorities, demanding that they properly listen to the voices of workers.