Japan Press Weekly

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2009 May 20 - 26 [LABOR]

Panasonic created list of workers to be forced to quit job

In the House of Councilors Budget Committee meeting on May 21, Japanese Communist Party representative Nihi Sohei revealed that a major electronics manufacturer of the Panasonic group has a “redundancy list” of workers who would be laid off as part of its cost-cutting “restructuring” scheme. He said that the government should take action to stop the company from forcing workers out.

The company is Panasonic Factory Solutions plant in Tosu City, Saga Prefecture.

The Panasonic group, which is implementing a 15,000 job cut plan, announced that it will close its Tosu plant and transfer workers to its plants in Yamanashi and Osaka prefectures.

Despite the promise that jobs will be secured, the company announced a 500 job cut plan, listed “redundancies” as separate from “necessary” workers, and interviewed those workers listed as “redundancies” in order to force them to resign stating, “If you refuse to agree to resign by May 28, you will receive no additional severance pay.”

Nihi asked Prime Minister Aso Taro, “Don’t you think it is wrong for a company to drive workers into a corner in such a cowardly manner?”

Aso declined to answer the question by stating, “I will not comment on individual cases.”

Citing the Supreme Court ruling that if a worker is denied his or her right to decide on the company’s demand that the worker quit, such action is a violation of workers’ basic rights, Nihi said, “The prime minister should act to stop the illegal labor practice, which is essential to prevent the collapse of the job market.”

Nihi also requested that the Diet hold a session to discuss this issue by summoning business leaders to the House of Councilors Budget Committee meeting.