Japan Press Weekly

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2013 September 4 - 10 [LABOR]

Student part-time workers form labor union

College students working part-time have formed their own labor union to address and overturn their employers’ harsh labor practices.

The union is affiliated with the Tokyo Young Contingent Workers’ Union and consists of 20 students at universities and colleges in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

At a press conference following the inauguration of the union on September 6, union leader Iwai Yuki, a sophomore at a university in Tokyo, said that student part-time workers are forced to work under illegal conditions such as working overtime without pay.

Iwai said that the union aims to inform students taking part-time jobs that they have rights as a worker and increase their awareness that when entering the working society, they should protect themselves from abusive working conditions by asserting their rights.

“I hope that our activities will open the way for students to access labor unions easily,” Iwai added.