Japan Press Weekly

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2009 May 13 - 19 [LABOR]

Foreign workers in Japan are rising up

Many foreign workers in Japan, who are low paid and are forced to work under poor working conditions, are now joining unions to struggle for better living conditions.

“I never had paid-holidays, healthcare insurance, or pension plans. Believing the employer’s promise that we would be promoted to full-time regular positions, I worked hard for the company for nine years. But suddenly, I was fired. I feel so angry and feel betrayed,” said Japanese-Brazilian Nunomura Eiji, 34, who had worked as a temporary worker disguised as an independent contractor at Yodogawa Hu-Tech Co., Ltd., manufacturer of fluororesin products.

He went to the local union Kobushi (fist) soon after the company announced a wage cut. While collective bargaining was still underway, the company laid him off. Nunomura, then, joined an industrial union federation. Late last year, he and other laid-off workers filed a lawsuit demanding an injunction against their dismissals. He also demanded that the company give them full-time positions.

With the lawsuit pending, the local Labor Bureau recognized that Yodogawa Hu-Tech had used these workers as temporary workers in the guise of independent contractors and instructed the company to employ them directly.

Nunomura and other laid-off workers are demanding that Yodogawa Hu-Tech comply with the Labor Bureau recommendation.

According to the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren)-affiliated All-Japan Metal Information Machinery Workers’ Union (JMIU), the number of foreign workers joining local unions is increasing in several prefectures, including Aichi and Shizuoka, where many foreigners of Japanese origin live.

On April 21, Zenroren held a national assembly in Tokyo with many foreign workers participating.

Fabio Nishimaki, secretary of a JMIU regional branch, said, “I want to join in the struggle with Japanese workers to put a stop to the ongoing mass dismissals of contingent workers.”

The government recently decided to bear a portion of the travel expenses for unemployed foreigners of Japanese origin, including Japanese-Brazilians and Japanese-Peruvians, to go back to Brazil and Peru. However, what the government should do now is to make Japanese corporations fulfill their legal responsibilities.