Unions stage protests at large corporations

In the first nationwide wave of the 2004 Spring Struggle, labor unions mainly from the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) on January 21 carried out a concerted action at more than 40 locations throughout the country, demanding major corporations fulfill their social responsibilities and denouncing their corrupt politics.

About 800 people, including members of Zenroren-affiliated unions, marched in demonstration through the Marunouchi business district of Tokyo where many major corporations are headquartered. They staged a protest in front of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren).

Participants visited the head offices of Toyota Motor Co., telecommunication giant NTT Corp., and Japan Railways to request them to revoke their wage cut and personnel reduction plans. They also petitioned the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to forgo the planned closing down of 154 state-run hospitals.

Bannai Mitsuo, Zenroren secretary general, at a rally after the demonstration called on the participants to fight against business circles' plan to abolish the wage talks that have been held annually between capital and labor.

Speaking through a bullhorn in front of Toyota's head office, Ohki Hisashi said that Toyota, which is led by Okuda Hiroshi, Nippon Keidanren chair, is expecting a record pretax profit for the period ending in March. Its huge profit is a result of forcing its employees into unpaid overtime work as well as wage cuts, he stressed.

Sunagawa Kazue, Asia Electronics' union member,told Akahata that the company urged her to quit as a part-time worker but she successfully refused to do so it, helped by the union affiliated with the All-Japan Metal and Information Machinery Workers' Union (JMIU).

Protesters shouted, "Only by achieving a wage increases can we ensure boosting people's purchasing power and economic recovery." (end)