20% of care providers did not give pay raises

A government survey has found about 20 percent of firms that provide homecare for the physically disabled did not give their caregivers a pay rise, despite the increased service fees paid to providers.

The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare conducted the survey in September 2009, after it raised service fees by an average of 5.1 percent in April that year.

The measure was taken to address a labor shortage in the homecare industry.

The survey of about 13,800 providers across Japan found the average monthly salary in the industry was about 3,200 dollars, up 75 dollars from a year earlier.

But 19.6 percent of respondents said they did not raise pay.

The ministry says some operators said they used the money to improve welfare benefits for their staff. It will ask homecare providers to make further efforts to increase salaries.