Japan Press Weekly

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2016 March 30 - April 5 TOP3 [LABOR]

JCP intervention puts a stop to drug maker’s downsizing plan

As a reaction triggered by the Japanese Communist Party’s effort in the Diet, a major pharmaceutical company canceled its plan to transfer its workers, who were targeted in its downsizing scheme, to an outplacement company to find a new job, Akahata reported on April 3.

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation in October 2015 announced an early retirement program as part of job-cut measures. While 634 workers applied for the program, 30 employees refused to resign. The drug maker decided to relocate the 30 workers to an outplacement firm named Nihon Employment Creation Organization Inc., one of the affiliates of Pasona, in order to force them to search for a new career.

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Koike Akira on March 24 at a House of Councilors Labor Committee meeting criticized corporate restructuring measures using the Pasona group company as problematic. Labor Minister Shiozaki Yasuhisa in reply said that it is inappropriate for a company to move its workers to an outplacement company to force them to give up their career. He promised to investigate into the matter.

The pharmaceutical company on April 1 retracted the transfer plan on the grounds that Pasona asked for the cancellation as it received instructions from the Labor Ministry.

A Mitsubishi Tanabe worker said to Akahata, “The plan to transfer workers to the Pasona company was called off thanks to the JCP intervention in the Diet. I hope that the JCP will keep working on this issue.”

Past related articles:
> Large corporations’ restructuring scheme using state subsidies is unacceptable: JCP Koike [March 25, 2016]
> Labor minister to JCP Takahashi: subsidy program to help corporate downsizing should be revised [March 17, 2016]