August 24, 2024

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo on August 23 visited the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) headquarters and talked with Zenroren executives about the movement and campaign for working hour regulations in Europe.

Shii said he’d like to know about the current situation and challenges of social rules in Europe compared to that in Japan.

Zenroren President Akiyama Masaomi responded that Japan has not ratified any ILO conventions on working hours, and that efforts to shorten working hours in Japan are weaker than in Europe. Akiyama pointed out that long working hours are a disincentive to social participation, especially for women, and that shortening working hours is necessary to achieve gender equality.

Zenroren Deputy Secretary General Fuse Keisuke, who is in charge of Zenroren’s international relations, described a campaign of the French General Confederation of Labour (CGT). He said that the French CGT states, “shorter hours without wage cuts are possible and necessary” and is strengthening its campaign for a 32-hour work week.

Shii said that, invited by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, he will attend an international conference in Berlin on August 31, and that he plans to meet with European left and progressive parties and trade unions on that occasion. He said, “During my stay in Germany, I’d like to learn firsthand about social rule-making in Europe.”