Japan Press Weekly

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2014 January 8 - 14 [LABOR]

Collaboration between union and JCP achieves drastic pay raise for dump car drivers

Associated efforts made by a union and the Japanese Communist Party recently won a drastic increase in payments to dump truck drivers engaging in expressway construction.

Major general construction contractors which are awarded contracts from West Nippon Expressway Company (NEXCO-West) to build freeways allotted low payments to dump car drivers transporting construction materials. The payment for a 10-ton dump truck driver was 34,000 yen per day, 10,000 yen less than that paid under the Land and Transport Ministry’s contracts for expressway construction in the Kansai region.

An All Japan Construction, Transport, and General Workers’ Union (CGT) Kansai regional branch for dump drivers argued that the reason why NEXCO contractors pay inadequate remuneration to drivers is because NEXCO gives low estimates for freeway construction in the first place. The union urged the company to increase the contract price for trucks.

Since February 2013, calling for higher pay rates for drivers, the union repeatedly petitioned and negotiated with NEXCO. In October, the union took to the streets near highway construction sites in Hyogo Prefecture to increase workers’ support for its demand.

Meanwhile, supporting the union’s demand, JCP organizations in the Kansai region made representations to the Land and Transport Ministry and its Kinki Regional Development Bureau, seeking the ministry’s acknowledgement that NEXCO is engaged in public works projects and that truck drivers in such projects should receive proper pay rates.

As a result of these efforts, NEXCO contractors revised their payments to drivers to 36,000 yen a day in autumn and again increased payments to 40,000 yen in December. Among contractors, Kajima Corporation announced that it will pay 44,000 yen to drivers.

Imamura Nobuyoshi, chair of the CTG dump workers’ union in Hyogo Prefecture, said, “A pay rise of 6,000 yen a day is significant. Our efforts in collaboration with the JCP forced NEXCO to take action. We will work to achieve a pay rate increase to 50,000 yen.”