TEPCO Demands Its Own Employees Return Their Nuclear Accident Compensation Money

[kristopher]

TEPCO Demands Its Own Employees to Return the Nuclear Accident Compensation Money, Mainichi Shinbun Says

This has got to be a new low for TEPCO, though TEPCO continues to surprise.

From Mainichi Shinbun (1/4/2014; part):
福島原発事故避難:東電　社員に賠償金返還を要求

TEPCO demands employees who were displaced by Fukushima I NPP accident to return [part of] the compensation money

東京電力福島第１原発事故による避難に伴う賠償金を巡り、東電が昨春以降、社員に対し既に支払った１人当たり数百万円から千数百万円の賠償金を、事実上返還するよう求めていることが関係者の証言で分かった。確認されただけで、総額は１億円を超えるとみられる。...返還請求により、２０歳代の若手社員らが次々と退社しており、原発の復旧作業に影響が出かねない対応に批判の声が上がっている。

It has been revealed by people concerned that since last spring TEPCO has been demanding its employees who have been displaced by the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident to practically return the compensation money of several million yen [tens of thousands of US dollars] to over 10 million yen [over US$100,000] that they each received. ... Because of this demand to return money, young TEPCO employees in their 20s are quitting the job in droves, which could jeopardize the work to restore the plant.

...　しかし、ある男性社員は、２０１２年秋に賠償を打ち切られた。「立ち入り制限のない区域の賃貸住宅に転居した１１年夏の時点で避難は終了したとみなす」というのが理由だ。転居前も賃貸住宅に住んでいたのだから、別の賃貸住宅に引っ越した段階で避難は終了した、という。しかし、社員以外なら引っ越しを伴う以上、賠償は打ち切られない。

One male employee had his compensation cut off in fall of 2012. The reason was that "he moved to a rental house in the area with no entry restriction in summer of 2011, at which time the evacuation due to the accident is considered by TEPCO to have been over." [In TEPCO's logic,] since he had lived in a rental house before the move, the evacuation was over when he moved to another rental house. However, compensations for people who are not TEPCO employees are not cut off when they relocate.

　男性社員を驚かせたのは昨春、賠償実務を担う東電の「福島原子力補償相談室」（東京都千代田区）から届いた文書。「控除させていただく調整額について」との表題に続き「（既に）お支払いした金額と、正しく算出した金額が異なっていることが確認された」として、差額が数百万円に達すると記載されていた。東電側は、引っ越し（１１年夏）以降に受領した数百万円の差額を「もらい過ぎ」と判断したとみられる。

What surprised him was a document he received last spring from TEPCO's "Fukushima Nuclear Compensation Counseling Office" which is in charge of compensation. The title of the document said "Adjustment that we would humbly deduct [from future payment]", and the body text said "It has been confirmed that the amount that we have already paid you and the amount that has been correctly computed differ," and the difference amounts to several million yen. It looks TEPCO has decided that several million yen that he received after he moved (summer of 2011) was "in excess".

More at: http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2014/01/tepco-demands-its-own-employees-to.html

[catbyte]

1. That's an awesome way to foster company loyalty. First you irradiate everything,

compensate you for it, then demand you give it back because of bad math? Ooookkkaaay.