Charging more for handicapped employees?

Seems like this belongs in the Japan area. This is in the description of a Japanese seller on eBay:

"We also set shipping rate a but higher than normal because handicapped persons of our employees are carrying baggage to postal service."

(http://stores.ebay.com/TokyoDisney, second sentence under "Shipping Informations").

I'm assuming they are trying to say that the shipping has an extra charge for the cost of bringing the items to the post office, but somehow they word "handicapped" got thrown in there due to some direct translation issues. Either that or they really are charging extra to cover the cost of handicapped employees.

 

That's discrimination if they mean that. But its more likely its not really what it says, just like what you said where that word was thrown in there due to direct translation.

 

I don't know about you, but they're charging at least $7 in (air mail to Asia) shipping for a mechanical pencil that weights only five gram, give or take.

 

Yeah but do they charge more for an item that actually would cost near $7 to post?

 

LMAO. That is the most fucked up thing I've ever seen.

 

I suspect the translation is accurate. Anti-discrimination legalisation is a joke in Japan.

 

Apparently, companies in Japan that employ handicapped workers are given an incentive by the government. Which sounds fine in itself -- tax- or subsidy-based programs designed to make work practices more "progressive" exist in many countries around the world.

The problem is, companies just see Yen signs in place of handicapped employees, and just keep them around for the extra income. One of my students works in an office with a handicapped employee under this system, and she said that all the other workers just ignored him or treated him as a minor nuisance. She was the only one that actually tried to befriend him.

Then of course there are many "handicapped" kids in Japan nowadays because their mothers drank/smoked/did drugs during pregnancy, but don't get me started on that.... X-(

 

heh well I didn't mean to depress anyone. I just imagined an email saying:

"Hello, and thanks for your purchase. We sent Billy to the post office with your package, but no one has seen or heard from Billy since he left on Monday. Your package will either be arriving soon or not at all. Thanks again."

 

nvm mind that, your all handicapped

 

I consulted at a company last year that took in people with disabilities and gave them menial jobs. The city (and I believe the state) subsidized the salaries and gave the company some sort of tax benefit for giving these people an opportunity. Not really different from what the Japanese do, given ccovell's response.

 

Things that don't exist are generally not jokes.

Yeah, but employees are also supposed to be compensated for overtime. Nowhere in the world will you find such a large populace of people working* obscene hours for no overtime.

*work sometimes entails playing freecell and/or drinking tea.

 

I'm sure there is a robot in the works as we speek. Or possibly one of those cute interactive robo-stuffed animals... that shoots poison darts.