Japan Press Weekly

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2008 April 30 - May 13 [YOUTH]

Students and young workers carry out street actions calling for establishment of work rules

About 270 students and young unionists took part in the “Tokyo Youth May Day Rally” in preparation for the National Youth Rally that will be held in October calling for rules for employment to be established.

The event was sponsored by the organizing committee of the National Youth Rally that consists of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) Youth Section, the Tokyo Metropolitan Youth Union, the Democratic Youth League of Japan, and the All Japan Federation of Students Unions (Zengakuren).

In the rally, young workers spoke about their struggles.

One of two participants from the Tokyo Metropolitan Youth Union said, “Even one worker’s voice can change the situation. I want to improve working conditions to enable workers to work with dignity.”

Another said, “After joining the union, I changed my opinion and am working with others to have wrong labor practices corrected.”

A day laborer said, “I think we have to join forces in order to make our voices heard by the government and corporations as well as to be able to reach the public.”

The lawyer Sasayam Naoto pointed out that young people want a place to unite and that they want a labor law revision to protect workers’ rights. He called on the participants to wage a struggle by stating, “By just demanding that corporations comply with the current labor laws, we can improve many aspects of our working conditions.”

After the rally, participants took to the streets and carried out a survey of young workers concerning problems they have related to their work. They reached out to young people and surveyed their weekly working hours include any overtime, and called for an end to “unpaid overtime work,” “prohibition of the use of day laborers, and providing young people with secure employment.”
- Akahata, May 12, 2008