Japan Press Weekly

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2023 October 11 - 17 [LABOR]

Zenroren-affiliated caregivers’ and helpers’ network holds assembly

A network of nursing-care workers and home helpers affiliated with the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) on October 8 held its general assembly in Tokyo and approved an action program for the next year which aims to increase union members and achieve better working conditions for care personnel.

The average monthly income of caregivers is 70,000 yen lower than that of workers in other industries. The care industry is chronically shorthanded.

Zenroren Vice President Akiyama Masaomi in charge of the network delivered a speech and pointed out, “The labor shortage is so serious that nursing-care service providers have to pay a fee of at least one million yen to staff agencies to look for potential care workers.” He said that wage hikes and better working conditions are absolutely necessary to attract people to work in the care industry.

He also said, “A union must be formed to achieve wage increases,” calling for the unionization of the 2.1 million care workers in Japan.

Akiyama added, “Without union demands, wages would never go up. It is necessary to listen to the demands from non-unionized caregivers and maintain close communication with them.” He said that many home-visit care workers often feel alone because many of them go directly to users’ houses and then go straight home, and so they hardly have the chance to see and talk with other care workers. He continued to say that the network will also work to unionize the growing number of foreign caregivers in addition to home-visit care workers.