JCP TOTO branch talks with management to end unpaid overtime

The Japanese Communist Party branch at TOTO, Ltd. had talks with the company management on June 11 on how to carry into practice the government's April circular calling for the elimination of unpaid overtime work.

The talks took place at the company head office in Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture.

At the Kitakyushu plants of the multinational manufacturer of sanitary ware, including toilet seats units, unpaid overtime work is an everyday practice for 1,600 employees who feel obliged to underreport the hours actually worked under the voluntary report system.

In the talks, the JCP branch representatives requested the management to comply with the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's circular that calls for employers to keep records of work of this kind.

They also emphasized that the shorter hours of work and the elimination of unpaid overtime work will increase working people's income and help the nation's economy get out of the lingering recession, which means more housing starts. This will also help TOTO sell more of its products, they said.

Two corporate representatives agreed with the JCP argument in achieving economic recovery and said that they had to be wise enough and overcome the conventional way to seriously undertake the ministry's call.

The JCP in Kitakyushu City carried out similar talks with the management of Yasukawa Electric Corp., another Kitakyushu City-based major plant machinery producer in late May. (end)