The News Minute| September 9, 2014| 1.00 pm IST
Tokyo Electric Power Corporation (Tepco), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that was destroyed in the March 2011 tsunami, is facing problems with its labourers and the victims in the vicinity of the plant.
The labourers are not being paid the proper wages. Two former and two current workers have approached the court contending that Tepco and its contractors failed to ensure they were paid mandatory hazard allowances, on top of their regular wages, reported the Guardian. This is the first time that such a complaint is being made against Tepco.
It was just last week that Tepco was asked by a court to pay $500,000 to the family of a lady who had killed herself after the company had forced her to leave her home in the vicinity of the plant. Tepco, however, said that it would “respond in a sincere way” to the court order.
If the case is decided by the court in favour of the workers who filed it, their lawyer says that many more similar cases could be filed.
There is, however, one more important concern. Since the plant is now being decommissioned, and the wages being paid are less when compared to the hazardous nature of work which involves removal of melted nuclear fuel, most skilled and experienced workers are leaving. Work is being carried out by amateurs which is a reason to worry for all those who are in the vicinity of the plant.