Zenroren holds symposium on late-night shift work

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Zenroren holds symposium on late-night shift work

The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) on April 25 held a symposium in Tokyo on the issue of late-night shift work that is prevalent in most industries.

Many participants stressed the need to establish law to regulate late-night shift work because it causes health problems as well as threatens overall safety.

Physician Hirose Toshio said, "Night-shift work not only damages workers' health but also lowers their quality of life that includes spending time with their families."

Lawyer Hirai Tetsufumi reported on a court struggle of post office workers' working on a graveyard shift without rest periods, and stressed the need "to establish specific laws and regulations to reduce night-shift workloads."

Labor economist Kawamura Masanori pointed out that the present working hour regulations are insufficient in protecting taxi drivers and other professional drivers who are working under deregulated work environments. He demanded that substantial measures be taken in both labor and industrial policies in order to ensure appropriate incomes without having to work longer hours.

Referring to a movement calling for an increase in the number of medical staff and for night shifts with proper regulations in the wake of frequent deaths from overwork (Karoshi) at medical institutes, Omura Yoshimi, vice-president of the Japan Federation of Medical Workers' Unions (Iroren) said, "Iroren will work harder to put legal restrictions on night-shift labor in cooperation with night-shift workers of many other industries."

Nagayama Toshikatsu, professor of commerce at Nippon University, gave a lecture on a change in the Japanese economy creating long working hours and late-night labor.

- Akahata, April 26, 2009