Olympic volunteers find that doing the same job that paid staff doesn’t play

The Tokyo Olympics are struggling to retain its volunteer army after it became known that organizers were hiring paid staff to do similar tasks, in the latest hurdle for the games so delayed in Japan.

According to organizers, about 10,000 volunteers have left in recent weeks, of which about 110,000 are the host face of Tokyo 2020 – working as guides, drivers, event staff, medical assistants and interpreters.

But without foreign spectators and a Covid-19 state of emergency in Tokyo, the enthusiasm of volunteers is running out, highlighting the difficulties in organizing the world’s largest sporting event during a pandemic.

The government of Japan and the International Olympic Committee insist that the games will start as planned on July 23, despite warnings from fans could spread the coronavirus, and a delayed vaccination campaign that has given a first dose to only 13% of the population.

The last blow against voluntary morality came when ads appeared on the Internet offering salaries of 1.7 1,700 ($ 15.50) per hour to work as a staff in front of the house at a “large-scale international sporting event” in July and August.

Although Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa said last month that volunteers would have different duties with paid staff, the announced tasks include guiding spectators and taking the temperature.

An announcement for a “maritime sports venue,” he said it would be like working in a resort, with food and accommodation provided. Two agencies convened by the Financial Times confirmed that the jobs corresponded to the Olympics.

Takamichi Ueno, a freelance photographer from Tochigi prefecture, said he was still waiting for his role for the road cycling race and was hoping to meet the riders. But he said he was upset when he heard that the games were hiring staff to work alongside volunteers, as he had to travel to Fuji International Speedway (where the road race ends) and find accommodation at his expense. “I don’t agree,” he said.

Katsuji Yoshioka, a retiree, said he resigned as a volunteer in April after being asked to sign up for nine-hour shifts as a driver. “They called him a driving supporter,” he said. “They were looking for shifts like 2pm to 11pm, which would mean it was hard to get the last train.”

Yoshioka said he felt the work schedule was too strenuous for an inexperienced volunteer and that it would be easy to take Covid as a driver. He felt vindicated when he learned that Tokyo 2020 was hiring paid staff. “It would be a joke if I had been doing this job alongside people who were charging for it,” he said.

In an effort to make the games safer and turn public sentiment upside down, Japan is debating the vaccination of all volunteers before the Olympics, advancing them ahead of others in the queue. Currently, Japan only vaccinates those over the age of 65, but will start letting large companies vaccinate their staff from June 21st.

“We have agreed to go in that direction,” Marukawa said in response to a parliamentary question this week. “But there are a number of practical issues.”