According to a report by Shohei Sakakura, a Madhouse production assistant gets hospitalized after overwork.
Madhouse is a Japanese animation company which was founded in 1972 by ex-Mushi Pro animators, including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Maruyama left the company in 2011 to form MAPPA. The company is popular for producing one of the most popular anime shows including, Death Note, Hunter X Hunter 2011, One-Punch Man season 1 and many more.
Madhouse Production Assistant Hospitalized for Overwork
Shōhei Sakakura, the representative and editor-in-chief for the youth labor advocacy group and magazine Posse, has reported that a Madhouse production assistant hospitalized for overwork.
「サマーウォーズ」「時をかける少女」などで知られる日本テレビ子会社のアニメ制作会社「マッドハウス」に在籍中の制作進行Ａさんが、未払い残業代の請求と長時間労働の改善、スタッフによるパワハラの謝罪等を求め、ブラック企業ユニオンに加入。本日、団体交渉を申し入れました！ pic.twitter.com/YhtI62W2J7
— 坂倉昇平＠ブラック企業ユニオン（総合サポートユニオン）／POSSE (@magazine_posse) April 5, 2019
Sakakura also reported that the assistant producer has joined a trade union and is seeking compensation for unpaid overtime. The report also mentioned that the worker is also seeking an apology for the power harassment they received. The union which the assistant has joined is a Black Company Union which was formed in 2017 which offers consultation and support for workers across various industries. The union is also associated with Posse. Black Union has started the process of collective bargaining on April 5.
But we managed to improve the long hours and unpaid overtime in those industries,” he wrote. “It takes courage, but when workers speak up, they have strong power.”
In the follow-up Tweet, Sakakura continued to detail more information about the assistant’s situation. During crunch time, the assistant would work up to 200 hours of overwork per month and would work on holidays, day and night on weekends and on public holidays as well. Which would make them collapse and some of them even hospitalized to overwork.
Sakakura also mentioned that he has heard “This is how the anime industry works.” He said he heard the same things about teaching, nursing, childcare, film production, and construction industries. “But we managed to improve the long hours and unpaid overtime in those industries,” he wrote. “It takes courage, but when workers speak up, they have strong power.”
He continued, “However, there’s no denying that behind this black company lies a black industry. Even if we manage to improve one company, if that doesn’t spread to the companies around them, then the others will just carry on thinking that honesty doesn’t pay. They’ll force the burden on smaller companies by subcontracting them for work. Workers from many different companies will need to speak up in order to change the industry.”
Madhouse is one of the most popular Japanese production studios who has produced top tier anime with mind-blowing animations and its quality. Madhouse has produced shows like, Hunter X Hunter, One-Punch Man, No Game No Life, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card and many more. Which show is your favorite from Madhouse? Let us know down in the comments below.