The city of Fukuchiyama announced it will pay additional allowances to city employees who worked as volunteers in the Fukuchiyama Marathon, acknowledging these duties should have been classified as official work.
Every November, the Fukuchiyama Marathon is organized by the city of Fukuchiyama in Kyoto Prefecture, where city employees were previously unpaid volunteers. Recently, an internal report highlighted that employees were reportedly engaged in volunteer work that should have been recognized as official duties, leading the city to announce additional compensation totaling about 125 million yen over the next three fiscal years (2022-2024) for these employees. This payment includes overtime allowances and special duty payments for managerial staff.
The city has involved both municipal employees and citizen volunteers in marathon operations, but the report indicated that city employees performed tasks without proper classification as work hours. Following this, a compliance examination committee urged the city for corrective actions, confirming that city workers played a significant role in the marathon's execution. Their participation was based on actual operational needs and proper staffing requirements, thus indicating that their engagement should not merely be seen as volunteer activity.
In response, Mayor Kazuo Ohashi stated the intent to swiftly implement corrective actions and improve the operational oversight. A third-party committee has been established to investigate the situation further, and the findings will guide comprehensive revisions of how the city organizes such events and compensates its workers involved in them.
