Japan Press Weekly

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2017 March 1 - 7 [LABOR]

JCP-union collaboration stops Hitachi’s forcible retirement practice

Joint efforts between the Japanese Communist Party and a labor union drove Hitachi into giving up forcing a male worker in his 50s to accept early retirement, Akahata learned on March 2.

While earning a bumper profit, Hitachi, Ltd. carried out a massive job-cut plan and slashed 6,000 jobs between 2015 and 2016. Targeted by the company, the man worker had to put up with private interviews five times since August 2016. At each meeting, the company claimed that it did not have any post available for him and forced him to voluntarily leave his job. He, however, decided to fight against Hitachi by joining the Denki-Joho Union which organizes individual workers in the electronics and information sectors.

The union, together with a Kanagawa local of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), held collective bargaining negotiations and conducted street campaigns in front of the company headquarters with the aim of pressuring Hitachi to abandon its outrageous job-cutting measures.

The JCP also worked in behalf of the worker in the Diet. In January at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting, Prime Minister Abe responded to a question by JCP lawmaker Tamura Tomoko, saying that Hitachi’s forcible retirement practice is inappropriate. In February, JCP Lower House member Hatano Kimie at a House Budget Committee meeting urged the Labor Ministry to instruct the electronics giant to stop imposing its early retirement program on workers.

Denki-joho union chair Maita Tokuji said, “We will use this epoch-making outcome to encourage workers to stand up against unfair corporate labor practices.”