Japan Press Weekly

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2008 July 23 - 29 [LABOR]

Zenroren holds 23rd Regular Convention

The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) held its 23rd Regular Convention from July 23-25 in Tokyo under the slogan “Let’s reduce poverty and economic inequalities, and work for world peace utilizing the Japanese Constitution as a guide in places of work as well as in everyday lives.”

Zenroren, a national trade union center with a membership of 1.2 million, will mark its 20th anniversary in November 2009.

Zenroren President Ban’nai Mitsuo in his opening speech called on delegates to make strides towards work and life with dignity, world peace, and the reunification of the trade union movement. He also reminded them of the importance of the founding of Zenroren by making clear its opposition to anti-communism and labor-management collaboration as well as the rejection of mandatory support for a specific political party.

He said Zenroren should mark its 20th anniversary with a record high memberships in response to the high expectations of the trade union movement.

In presenting the action program for the next two years, Zenroren Secretary General Odagawa Yoshikazu called on the unions to have confidence in the fact that growing public awareness and their movement aimed at eradicating poverty and preventing the adverse revision of the Constitution are influencing government policies. Zenroren will develop nationwide common action to increase the movement to defend jobs, living conditions and peace.

Odagawa said Zenroren would put emphasis on the struggle to win wage increase to ensure that every worker can help himself or herself, establish rules for decent work develop social services, oppose a consumption tax increase, and defend and make the best use of the Constitution.

Odagawa emphasized the urgency of the struggle to get the Worker Dispatch Law revised into a law to protect temporary workers, taking advantage of the circumstances in which even politicians of the ruling parties are obliged to call for strict rules to be established to protect temporary workers.

He said that with the establishment of “the Contingent Workers Action Center” , which the Zenroren Convention was to approve, Zenroren will do all it can to further develop the movement to improve contingent workers’ conditions, including wages, and to promote the employment of temporary workers as full-time workers. - Akahata, July 24, 2008