Study of Methods of Realizing Equal Pay for Nurses

Abstract

Today in Japan, it is considered a matter of course that unfair discrepancies in pay exist depending on whether workers are employed full―time or part―time, even if the content of their work is the same. However, there are few cases of fact―finding studies intended to resolve this problem―that is, to realize the concept of equal pay for work of equal value. In order to realize equal pay, it would be impractical to lower the wage base of full―time workers to match that of part―time workers, but it would be practical to raise the wage base of part―time workers to match that of full―time workers. When doing so, securing a source of funding to pay for the increased labor costs is extremely important. However, there are differences in management’s ability to secure such funding. Of course, it would be natural to regard management as having responsibility for securing such funding, but this paper considers the possibility of securing additional funding sources through other methods. The result is a meaningful case study that identifies the possibility of realizing equal pay from the perspective of addressing the issue of devising sources of funding.This paper examines the specialized profession of nursing, which is the subject of a national qualification program, and is highly important to our aging society.