Japan Press Weekly

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2009 February 4 - 10 [LABOR]

Zenroren unions carry out publicity action demanding that large corporations protect jobs by using internal reserves

On the early morning of February 4, about 100 union members converged on the entrance to Canon Inc. headquarters in Tokyo demanding that the major camera maker fulfill its corporate social responsibility in stopping its dismissals of temporary workers by using its huge amount of internal reserves.

This action was a part of the 2009 Spring Struggle by the People’s Spring Struggle Joint Committee that includes the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren).

They handed out leaflets to Canon workers by saying, “1,700 temporary workers who have been dismissed can keep their jobs just by cutting the value of dividends to shareholders by 4 yen.”

Canon President Mitarai Fujio also heads the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren).

Zenroren Deputy General Secretary Inoue Hisashi, who served as a member of a committee that opened a temporary relief center set up at Hibiya Park in Tokyo during the New Year holiday period for people who became homeless after being laid off as temporary workers, said, “Laid off workers were on the verge of losing their lives. Major companies’ arrogance is unacceptable. They must stop job cuts for temporary workers.”

Similar action also took place at a plant of Honda Motors in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture on the same day. Members of the All-Japan Metal and Information Machinery Workers’ Union (JMIU) assembled to call on Honda workers to join the JMIU by distributing handbills and singing a song about the temporary and fixed-term contract workers’ situation.

They appealed to workers by saying, “Many temporary and fixed-term contract workers have joined the JMIU in order to protect their jobs. Don’t suffer by yourselves. Join us in further developing the struggle.”

Many workers read the handbill intently as they walked into the plant. Some asked for more than one copy of the handbill.