Coordinated efforts by JCP and workers move labor office to direct Hitachi
to pay overtime

The Japanese Communist Party and workers forced the Hitachi Labor
Standards Inspection Office to make an investigation and issue directives to
eliminate unpaid overtime at Hitachi Ltd., Japan's leading electronics
manufacturer, and its affiliate companies.

At Hitachi Ltd. and its affiliate companies, which are pushing ahead with
massive restructuring with more than 15,000 job cuts, workers are not paid
for overtime work.

At one of Hitachi's factories, workers are forced to work overtime for
more than 100 hours a month, even though they are paid for only up to 40
hours' overtime. A worker became distressed and committed suicide after
working 13-14 hours a day for a long period.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare last April issued written
instructions to end unpaid overtime. A labor standards inspection office in
Aichi Prefecture advised Hitachi's plant to comply with this instruction and
the plant management in August paid its workers overtime for the past three
months.

In the Hitachi district of Ibaraki Prefecture, where Hitachi's production
base is located, workers are allowed to report only 29.5 or less overtime
hours under the name of the "discretionary work system."

Ozawa Kazuaki of the JCP in the House of Representatives Committee on
Health, Labor and Welfare meeting on October 17 called for ministry control
of such a tricky system of evading overtime payments.

The ministry's Labor Standards Bureau director in reply promised to give
guidance to the company if a labor standards inspection office receives any
complaints.

On November 2, Hitachi workers and JCP local committee members went to
the Ibaraki Prefectural Labor Office and the Hitachi Labor Standards
Inspection Office to call for their guidance on the company management
because Hitachi is forcing workers to falsely report times of their going to
and leaving their workplaces.

A week later, labor standards inspection officers visited the Hitachi
office to make an on-the-spot inspection. After the inspection, the company
management told workers to report their overtime every day.

A worker said, "Even at Hitachi, a world-famous company, it is possible
for us workers to get our working conditions improved when we show the facts
and bring the situation to light. We will continue our joint efforts until
all workers are freed from unpaid overtime." (end)