ILO calls for guarantee of basic labor rights for public service employees for fifth time

Japan Press Weekly

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ILO calls for guarantee of basic labor rights for public service employees for fifth time

The International Labor Organization (ILO) on June 19 called on the Japanese government to guarantee public service employees basic labor rights in the fifth recommendation to Japan on the subject.

Without providing basic labor rights to government employees, the Japanese government has submitted to the Diet a bill to reform the government employee system with the aim of transferring the authority over personnel affairs, including decisions regarding wages, from the National Personnel Authority, which is an independent and compensatory body for public service employees being prohibited from exercising basic labor rights, to the government.

The Japanese government is clinging to the policy of avoiding solving the issue of basic labor rights for public service employees.

Stating, "The Government will undertake full and frank consultation with all relevant workers' organizations", the ILO called on the government to grant basic labor rights to public servants, to grant the right to organize to firefighters and prison staff, to ensure the right to bargain collectively and to conclude collective agreements, and to ensure the right to strike without delay.

Regarding the issue that the government excludes the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) from the government council to review the labor-management system and which examines whether to provide the right to conclude collective agreements, ILO said, "The Committee expects that the Government will take into consideration the necessity of affording fair treatment to all representative organizations."

Calling for implementation of the ILO recommendation, both Zenroren and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) filed complaints against the government.

- Akahata, June 29, 2009