Japan Press Weekly

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2009 January 7 - 13 [LABOR]

Labor Spring Struggle starts with nationwide campaign for jobs and a wage hike

Trade unions kicked off their 2009 Spring Struggle on January 7 with a nationwide publicity campaign calling for jobs and a wage increase. The day’s action was called for by the People’s Spring Struggle Joint Committee that includes the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren).

In Tokyo, union members stood near railway stations in the early morning to make an appeal to workers going to work, saying, “Major companies must fulfill their social responsibility by securing employment and increasing wages.” They also distributed copies of the flyer that read, “Economic recovery needs secure jobs and a wage increase.”

Speaking at the entrance of Tokyo Station, Zenroren President Daikoku Sakuji criticized large corporations for cold-heartedly dismissing temporary and fixed-term contract workers. “The current economic crisis should be solved through taking measures aimed at improving the public well-being by expanding domestic demands instead of continuing to depend on exports,” he said.

Daikoku also pointed out that workers’ solidarity, including the “tent village in Hibiya Park”, influenced the government and that workers’ struggles by forming their unions achieved limited successes in having employers withdraw layoff notices. He called on passing commuters to work together to achieve job security and a wage increase.

Tokyo Regional Council of Trade Unions (Tokyochihyo) President Ito Jun’ichi stressed the social significance of increasing wages by stating, “The number of workers earning less than 2 million yen in annual income is 17 million, which includes contingent workers in the public sector, accounting for a third of the workforce. This is why many consumers are unable to increase their spending.”