Japan Press Weekly

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2016 September 28 - October 4 [LABOR]

PM Abe’s panel on labor law revision ignores ILO principle of tripartite consultation

The council for the “Realization of Work Style Reform” which is set under the Prime Minister to discuss the revision of labor rules held its first meeting on September 27 at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The PM-led council consists of eight relevant Cabinet ministers and 15 private-sector members. Of the 15 private sector members, however, labor has only one representative while management has three representatives.

The “Work Style Reform” council will discuss nine issues, such as long working hours, equal pay for equal work, flexible work plans, and the acceptance of foreign workers. Based on the discussions, the panel will develop policies and map out a plan to implement these policies by the end of March 2017.

When the government seeks to revise labor laws, it should first consult with the Labor Ministry’s Labor Policy Council, the tripartite body composed of 30 representatives evenly elected from labor, management, and independent experts.

Prime Minister Abe has often gone over the head of the Labor Policy Council and made decisions on labor matters using his own panels which often have no labor representative. This clearly shows his stance disregarding the ILO Convention on tripartite consultation which calls on governments, employers, and workers to consult on an equal footing in regard to policymaking.

If PM Abe really intends to tackle the issue of long work hours, he should replace the “zero-overtime payment” bill which was submitted to the latest ordinary Diet session with a bill to protect workers from excessive overwork which should be proposed based on the Labor Policy Council’s discussions.

Prime Minister Abe is insisting that his working-style reform will contribute to an increase in Japan’s labor force and overall productivity. However, if the PM intends to relax labor rules under the name of realizing shorter work hours, he will inevitably face fierce resistance from workers and the general public who demand the establishment of fair work rules.

Past related articles:
> Abe seeks to undermine tripartite system in labor policy-making process [August 8, 2016]
> Zenroren resolves to put end to Abe’s runaway policies and win substantial minimum wage increase [July 29-31, 2016]