Yearly paid holidays taken -- less than 50% amidst massive personnel cut plans

Workers at electronics, automobile, and other major corporations in Japan
take only half of their yearly paid holidays, according to research by the
Health, Welfare, and Labor Ministry in 2000. This is the first time that the
figure was under 50 percent.

This trend was confirmed in a survey by the Japanese Trade Union
Confederation (Rengo), which found that workers in major corporations are
entitled to a few weeks of paid holidays, but that far from taking paid
holidays, they are forced into excessive overtime work.

Automobile

At Nissan Motor Co., which is implementing a 21,000-personnel reduction
plan, the average worker only uses 69.5% of their yearly paid holidays, and
at Mitsubishi Motors Co., which has launched a 9,500-personnel cut plan,
79.2%.

Average overtime work for regular workers is 306 hours a year at Daihatsu
Motor Co., and 280 hours at Suzuki, and as for shift workers, it is 352
hours at Daihatsu and almost over 200 hours in average at other auto
manufacturers.

Electronics

Employees of Hitachi Ltd. take 54.6% of their yearly paid holidays, and
Fujitsu 76.0%, and in most of other companies between 50-80%. Yearly hours
of overtime work reach 338 at Fujitsu, and 227 hours a year on average at
Rengo's 17 affiliates in the electronics industry.

Steel and Iron

Nippon Steel Co. workers use 65.5%, and Nippon Kokan K.K., which calls
for a 4,000-personnel cut, 68.0%. Kobe Steel workers used only 37.5%, and
65% in average at other companies.

Shipbuilding and heavy industries

Kawasaki Heavy Industries workers used 75.2%, and Ishikawajima-Harima
Heavy Industries 70.5%, ranging between 40-70% at other companies.

These figures suggest that what is redundant at corporations is not the
number of personnel as the employers argue, but the working hours.

Akahata of October 23 warned that long working hours, unpaid overtime
work, as well as the insufficient taking of yearly paid holidays, all
rampant at these major companies, violate the Labor Standards Law. They must
immediately give up their massive personnel cut plans, which allow such
harsh situations to continue. (end)