Japan Press Weekly

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2008 December 17 - 22 [LABOR]

Unionists in rally urge Keidanren to secure employment

The Joint Committee for the People’s Spring Struggle which includes the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) held a rally on December 16 in front of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) in Tokyo to demand that corporations fulfill their social responsibility to maintain job security.

The day’s action was in response to Keidanren’s annual report of the Management and Labor Policy Committee, which outlines the business circles’ strategy in coping with labor’s Spring Struggle for wage increases and better working conditions.

About 300 participants chanted, “Stop using workers as disposables! Give a fair share of corporate profits to workers!”

Zenroren Secretary General Odagawa Yoshikazu in his speech criticized Keidanren Chairman Mitarai Fujio for justifying large corporations’ mass job cuts as a “painful choice” even though they are expecting to make huge profits.

Odagawa said large companies should cancel their layoff plans and return part of their enormous profits to workers and small- and medium-sized companies that they exploited so that for the economy will be put back on track through expanding domestic demand.

A representative of the All-Japan Metal and Information Machinery Workers’ Union IBM branch said, “Since the company’s announcement of a 1,000-job cut plan, more workers have been joining the union. We will press large corporations to fulfill their corporate social responsibility and secure jobs for both full-time and contingent workers.”

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In a published statement on December 16, Zenroren Secretary General Odagawa Yoshikazu pointed out that the Keidanren Management and Labor Policy Committee Report fails to accept responsibility for the economic crisis.

Odagawa said, “Keidanren provides no analysis of the current economic crisis or a way out of it. Without setting forth any measures to solve the economic crisis, the report just comments on the worsening rate of unemployment as something that has nothing to do with Keidanren.”

“The report states that Keidanren needs to make an effort to secure employment and sets out ‘three viewpoints’ for determining proper working conditions. However, it is tantamount to calling for wage cuts and job cuts at the same time,” he said.

Odagawa said that Keidanren’s remedy will only decrease domestic consumption and drive workers and their families into poverty and increased hardships.

Pointing out that the report insists that “work-life balance” should be promoted in exchange for better productivity, Odagawa criticized Keidanren for failing to address the issue of full-time workers’ long working hours and contingent workers’ low-wages as well as the widespread exploitative working conditions that include unstable short-term employment practices.