March 31, 2020

An inaugural meeting of a union organizing disabled workers in Tokyo took place on March 29.

The newly-established Tokyo union of workers with disabilities resolves to strive to attain its goals, including the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the creation of a society where the disabled can feel needed through jobs and are able to live decent lives with dignity. The union also seeks to push the national and local governments to provide necessary assistance to disabled workers, such as the introduction of a system allowing public workers with disabilities to work as part-time workers under open-ended contracts and the revision of the current service system to enable disabled workers to use care services for commuting to work.

Union chair Ito Katsuyuki, who has communication difficulties caused by developmental disabilities, said, “I want to work hard to support all workers with disabilities.”

In the inaugural meeting, guest speakers, including a vice chair of the Tokyo local of the Japan Federation of Prefectural and Municipal Workers’ Unions (Jichiroren), delivered speeches in solidarity.