Workers and JCP push big electric company into eliminating unpaid work

At Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan's 4th largest electronics maker in sales, workers and the Japanese Communist Party have forced the management to take major steps to eliminate unpaid overtime work.

The company has already paid 70 million yen (up to 900 thousand yen each) to the 700 workers at its six offices in Amagasaki and Itami cities in Hyogo Prefecture for 2 months of overtime work.

Those six offices abolished upper limits of paid overtime work for the workers to enable them to demand full payment. Also, section heads now tell the workers to record the time when they start and finish working every day, and stress that the company will not force them into a disadvantageous position when they demand what they should be paid.

No company in the past has taken such a major step in eliminating unpaid overtime work.

The JCP Committee at the Mitsubishi Corporation Itami office contributed to making this happen. It called on workers to record their overtime work. Using the records, the JCP committee and Osawa Tatsumi, JCP Upper House member, had demanded that the Labor Standards Inspection offices in Amagasaki and Itami cities investigate and help abolish unpaid overtime work at Mitsubishi offices.

The JCP Mitsubishi Itami Committee said that the struggle will go on to completely abolish unpaid overtime work. (end)