Convenience stores are handy to pop into 24 hours a day. They also provide part-time jobs for thousands of people. A new report suggests that some stores are not so convenient for their part-time workers. Japan's national broadcaster NHK says workers are given unrealistic sales quotas. Labor rights experts say this exploits workers. Some workers get hundreds of dollars deducted from their salary and have to buy unsold stock for not meeting their quota.
An expert on Japanese labor law said deducting salaries for unmet quotas was illegal. He asked why so many part-timers felt they had to buy unsold stock. He suggested stores pressured workers to do this. The expert asked convenience stores to make sure part-timers were not exploited. One worker said he was "drowning in quotas". Another said that he once lost 30% of his monthly salary. The biggest losses are for quotas for unsold seasonal items.