July 8, 2012
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2012 July 4 - 10 [CIVIL RIGHTS]
Union members rally against Osaka move to restrict city workers’ political activities |
This was hosted by the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), the Osaka Federation of Trade Unions (Osaka Roren), the Japan Federation of Prefectural and Municipal Workers’ Union (Jichiroren), and the Japan Federation of National Public Service Employees’ Unions (Kokkororen).
Zenroren Secretary General Odagawa Yoshikazu criticized Mayor Hashimoto for taking advantage of residents’ distrust of unions and city office workers in order to suppress their political activities. Warning that an ordinance bill to regulate political activities, submitted to the Osaka city assembly on the same day, could even lead to a prohibition of public protests opposing the mayor’s policies, he stressed the need to strengthen unions’ struggles.
Takemura Hiroko, chair of the Osaka municipal workers’ union, pledged to develop local activities to defend the rights of not only Osaka residents but also all the people in Japan.
The following is a comment by Jichiroren Secretary General Saruhashi Hitoshi: If public workers cannot express their opinions regarding their jobs, they will end up with just doing what the heads of the nation or municipalities tell them to do. This will bring about a serious negative impact on civil movements calling for better municipal services.
An another ordinance bill regarding labor-management relations aims to ban their negotiations on management and operations items, which are deeply related to public employees’ working conditions, including budget, organization, and personnel allocation. To ban such negotiations would reject the very existence of labor unions.
The package of the two bills is aimed at turning public workers from being “servants of the whole community” to “servants of rulers.”
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