'Yakult Ajumma' with Increased Value Due to COVID-19... Movement to Hire Full-Time Employees in Japan

Japan Yakult [Source=Captured from Japan Yakult official website]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has made delivery personnel scarce, the demand for so-called "Yakult Ajummas" is increasing in Japan. There is also a growing movement to hire them as regular employees.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 5th, the Japanese dairy giant "Yakult" announced that it will hire female delivery workers who supply products to households or handle sales as regular employees.

Yakult plans to gradually convert about 3,000 of the approximately 32,000 female delivery workers over the next three years into regular employees of its affiliated sales companies.

Currently, most female delivery workers operate as individual contractors under business consignment contracts with sales companies, paying rental fees for delivery vehicles and receiving sales commissions based on their performance.

If Yakult's sales companies directly employ delivery workers, the burden of business expenses such as insurance premiums will increase. However, considering that it takes considerable time to recruit and train new delivery workers, it is judged better to hire them as regular employees.

In particular, the importance of securing a stable workforce due to the spread of COVID-19 also influenced this decision.

According to Nihon Keizai, Yakult plans to guarantee stable salaries to delivery workers while increasing individual working hours to improve work efficiency and expand sales.

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