Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2014 February 19 - 25 [LABOR]

Block Abe’s attempt to destroy labor laws in 2014 spring struggle

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

As a goal for the 2014 spring labor offensive, the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), one of the two major Japanese national trade union centers, is seeking to win a pay raise of more than 16,000 yen a month. The other major national union confederation, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), which has kept quiet about wage hikes for the past five years, is demanding a 1% or more increase in basic wages.

In addition to wage hikes, unions in this year’s spring struggle are also fighting against the Abe Cabinet’s move to relax labor laws under the slogan of turning Japan into a nation with the most favorable business investment climate in the world.

Abe’s labor reform policies include opening the use of agency workers to all job categories without time restraints, a creation of rules on the use of “limited full-time workers” who are paid lower wages and are easily fired, and deregulation of working hours to force workers to work overtime without pay.

The Abe government has developed these policies in accordance with business circle’s demand for expanding low-paid, unstable jobs under the guise of promotion of greater diversity in employment.

The Japan Research Institute of Labor Movement (Rodo-soken) recently released its findings that the Abe administration’s labor policies will slash Japanese pay packets by 41.9 trillion yen.

Both Zenroren and Rengo place importance on opposing the Abe government’s labor reform which will destroy jobs. They also try to increase efforts to achieve a substantial increase in non-regular workers’ wages and equal treatment between regular and non-regular workers, and have a wage hike implemented for all workers.