July 9, 2024

The Postal Industry Workers’ Union (PIWU) on July 6 ended its national convention after adopting a “gender equal” declaration calling for ensuring decent work for all workers.

The convention also adopted an action program for the next year which aims to achieve goals such as realizing equal treatment for non-regular workers and protecting postal services as public infrastructure. It elected the new leadership including re-elected PIWU Chair Himaki Naoya.

In the two-day discussions, delegates from across the country reported on their activities.

A delegate from Tokyo talked about the union’s fight to reduce the adverse effects of night shift work by such means as demanding a limit to the number of night shifts per month.

A delegate from the Shikoku Region reported that the union made joint efforts with local residents to prevent excessively long working hours by postal workers doing mail collection and delivery jobs as these workers are often forced to work more than 11 hours a day.

A Tokai Region delegate talked about the union’s efforts to realize women workers’ demands for a better work environment. The union, for example, is demanding that separate toilet and resting/changing room facilities be available for men and women in all post office buildings.