Japan Press Weekly

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2016 June 1 - 7 [LABOR]

Female firefighters group calls for female-friendly work environment

The percentage of women in the fire and rescue services stands at only 2%. Akahata on June 3 carried an interview with Aoki Reina who heads the women’s section of the National Council of Japanese Firefighter and Ambulance Workers.

Aoki in the interview pointed out that more than a half of emergency ambulance service users are women and children. She said that her colleagues across the country feel the importance of their roles when these users appear thankful for the presence of female workers.

Meanwhile, Aoki said that the working environments at fire departments are not female friendly. The women’s section in 2014 surveyed 120 woman members. The survey results revealed that 11% of the respondents said that their fire stations have no women-only sleeping room. She added that some respondents said that they share toilets or bathrooms with male colleagues.

As measures to encourage women in fire stations to keep working, Aoki pointed to the need to raise awareness of women’s right to maternity protection in order to make it easier for female workers to take leaves for menstrual pains, morning sickness, maternity, or child rearing.

Aoki pointed out the fact that some mothers had to give up their careers because they were required to work on 24-hour shifts and had difficulties in taking days off to take care of their children if they are sick. She said that it is necessary for both female and male workers to be able to apply for nursing-care or child-care leaves without hesitation.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Kira Yoshiko is working to improve the working conditions of female firefighters and ambulance workers. Kira, based on her research of similar workers in Britain, said to Akahata that maternity protection measures are essential to increase the number of women in firefighting and rescue services.