A company can shorten its own working day and still leave somebody else working late. Bring the deadline forward, change the specification halfway through, leave the price where it was. The hours have moved down the supply chain. They have not disappeared.

That is the problem behind November's “shiwayose” prevention campaign, announced by the health and labour ministry on October 30 and circulated locally by Osaka Labour Bureau. Shiwayose here means pressure pushed onto another business: rush orders and sudden changes without the buyer paying the real cost. The ministry also names unrealistically short construction schedules and prolonged waits imposed on truck drivers.

The buyer belongs in the picture

The Osaka leaflet tells ordering businesses to allow suitable delivery times, avoid frequent changes and improve ordering practices. Where a short-notice order or specification change cannot be avoided, it says the buyer should bear costs such as overtime. It also calls for discussion of passing on higher labour costs and avoiding unfair rework.

Those are the government's published expectations, not proof that a particular Osaka company has broken the law. The campaign is not a new automatic payout or a guarantee that a complaint will recover wages. Announced measures include publicity and labour-bureau visits to large businesses where pressure on suppliers is a concern. Results will need a separate check.

The political point is fairly plain. A shorter-hours announcement from the top of a supply chain tells us little unless the people further down can go home too. A buyer's deadline and budget belong in the account, not only the subcontractor's time sheet.

Two different routes for help

For small businesses, sole traders and freelancers with business-to-business disputes, Torihiki Kakekomidera offers free, confidential advice, including anonymous consultation: 0120-418-618, weekdays 09:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00, excluding holidays and the year-end break. This is a trading-dispute service, not the same thing as an employee labour complaint.

For overwork and other labour problems, a separate free national consultation day staffed by labour standards inspectors is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 09:00-17:00: 0120-794-713. That special line is next Saturday, not tonight. The ministry also lists the regular Labour Conditions Consultation Hotline, 0120-811-610, for evenings and weekends. Check its current hours and language-specific numbers before calling.

日本語

自社の残業を減らしても、取引先の夜が長くなっていたらどうでしょう。納期を前倒しし、途中で仕様を変え、予算は据え置く。仕事が減ったのではなく、下流へ移っただけです。

厚生労働省が10月30日に発表し、大阪労働局も案内している11月の「しわ寄せ」防止キャンペーンは、この問題を扱います。適正な費用負担のない短納期発注や急な仕様変更に加え、無理な工期、荷主による長時間の荷待ちなども対象の例に挙げています。

発注する側の都合も問われる

大阪労働局のリーフレットは、適切な納期、頻繁な変更の抑制、発注方法の改善を求めています。やむを得ず短期発注や急な仕様変更をするなら、残業代などの費用は委託者が負担すること。労務費の上昇分を転嫁できるよう協議し、不当なやり直しを生まない配慮も示されています。

これは政府が示した取組の内容で、特定の大阪企業の法令違反を認定する記事ではありません。キャンペーンが始まれば自動的に補償金が出るわけでも、相談で未払い賃金が必ず戻るわけでもありません。周知活動のほか、しわ寄せが懸念される大企業などへの労働局の訪問・要請も予定されています。効果が出たかは、別に確認する必要があります。

取引の上流だけが「残業を減らしました」と発表しても、それだけでは足りません。下流で働く人も帰れているか。下請側の勤怠だけでなく、発注側の納期と予算も見るべきです。

取引の相談と、労働の相談は別の窓口

中小企業・個人事業主・フリーランスの取引上の問題には「取引かけこみ寺」。相談無料、秘密厳守、匿名相談可。0120-418-618、平日9〜12時・13〜17時（土日祝・年末年始を除く）です。事業者間の取引相談で、従業員の労働問題の窓口とは区別してください。

過重労働などの労働問題には、11月7日（土）9〜17時、労働基準監督官が対応する無料の「過重労働解消相談ダイヤル」0120-794-713が設けられます。今夜ではなく、来週土曜です。通常の「労働条件相談ほっとライン」0120-811-610も夜間・週末の相談先として案内されています。受付時間や言語別の番号は公式ページで確認を。

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Sources checked October 31, 2026 at 15:27 JST. Consultation services have different purposes and hours; no individual legal outcome is promised.

• Ministry announcement, October30
• Osaka Labour Bureau campaign notice
• Osaka campaign leaflet, October2026
• Trading-dispute consultation service
• November7 inspector consultation announcement
• Regular hotline hours and languages

Osaka skyline from Umeda Sky Building, December 22, 2008, Kaiza96 / Wikimedia Commons. File photo, not a workplace named in this report. Cropped; card adaptation under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original photo / License.