The JIL Labor Flash Vol.3
Email Journal 03.09.2001
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Statistical Reports
Main Labour Economic Indicators
Current Topics
Fujitsu to Slash Workforce by 16,000, Toshiba to eliminate 17,000 jobs
...etc
Public Policies
Positive Action for Eliminating Different Male-Female Treatment
in the Work place...etc
News Clippings
Government and Private Enterprises Offer Employment Information
over the Internet..etc
Special Issue
Government Budget for FY2002
Statistical Reports
-Main Labour Economic Indicators-
http://www.jil.go.jp/estatis/econtents.htm
Current Topics
-Fujitsu to Slash Workforce by 16,000, Toshiba to eliminate 17,000 jobs-
On August 20, Fujitsu Limited announced a corporate restructuring plan
that will see the company slash its workforce by 11,400 overseas and
5,000 in Japan, shedding a total of 16,400 employees. This figure comes to
slightly less than 10% of the group's total of 180,000 employees.
Fujitsu will also restructure its semiconductor plants and consolidate
its production centers as a pillar of this plan.
Fujitsu, which is expected this year to post the highest consolidated
loss in the company's history, seeks to cut fixed labor costs such as
personnel expenses by 100 billion yen through this restructuring plan
and steer itself away from its reliance on hardware in its three main
business sectors of semiconductors, information equipment, and
communications equipment and more toward software and services.
Fujitsu believes that by 2003 the company will be able to post an
operating profit of 400 billion yen in its consolidated balance statement.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2001/vol.3/fujitsutoslash.html
-New Workers Seeking More Stability; Less than 55% Want Lifetime
Employment-
A "corporate lifestyle survey" conducted by Sanno University targeting
526 new workers revealed that new graduates are seeking greater stability
in employment. Although over 50% of the respondents still claimed that
they do not want to work under a seniority system, this figure was
7 points lower than the previous year. The percentage who wanted a
seniority system increased by 6.5 points to 40%. The percentage of
respondents who wanted to work under a performance-based annual salary
system decreased 3 points to 49%, putting them in the minority. As reasons
given for not wanting such a system, 37.6% cited "private ambitions that
damage cooperation in the workplace." The percentage of respondents who
favored a lifetime employment increased 1.2 points to 54.9%. A system
"would ensure a predictable lifestyle" for 40.9%, while 39.1% said that
they want to "work in a secure framework until they retire."
Public Policies
-Positive Action for Eliminating Different Male-Female Treatment
in the Workplace-
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour
and Welfare (MHLW) and the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations,
while nearly half of the companies surveyed already implement some
form of positive strategy designed to eliminate different treatment
of men and women in the workplace (measured by such indices as the
number of women hired, the number of sections with women employees,
the number of women holding supervisory posts, the length of employment
among women, and improvements in the workplace environment), about 30%
have not taken adequate steps in this direction.
That survey shows that 12% of the companies have not even heard of
"the positive action." To address this problem, MHLW established a
"Council for the Promotion of Women in the Workplace" on July 30.
This council, which comprises corporate executives and experts,
is designed to make the positive action known to and adopted by more
companies.
-Annual Wages for National Public Employees Decline for Third
Straight Year-
On August 8, the National Personnel Authority submitted to the Diet
and Cabinet a recommendation on salary payments to national public
employees. The recommendation is based on a survey of wages paid by
some 7,500 private corporations this April. In view of the influence
on the private sector of the continuing recession, the Authority
recommended a freeze in base salary increases for the second straight
year and a reduction in bonus payments for the third straight year.
The Authority recommended bonus payments this year to be reduced by
0.05 months' worth of salary and advised that the 3,756 yen shortfall
in annual wages compared with private enterprises be made up for by
payments made at the end of the fiscal year in March 2002.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2001/vol.3/annualwages.html
News Clippings
-Government and Private Enterprises Offer Employment Information
over the Internet-
On August 8, a consortium of public employment security offices
and private organizations comprising staffing companies and employment
magazines launched a "Work Information Net" service on the Internet.
The service is designed to match people seeking the right work with
employers seeking the right people. Information on the service is
updated every two hours. About 170,000 job openings were offered on
the first day, of which 20,000 came from private enterprises.
(August, Asahi Shimbun and others)
-e-Learning Over the Internet-
Nomura Research Institute (NRI) announced that it will strengthen
its e-Learning service this September. e-Learning refers to a system
in which users can obtain learning services at any time of the day
using the Internet. NRI has announced that it will begin offering
three courses, including a course designed to help corporate supervisors
correct their personnel evaluation biases. NRI also said that it plans
to create materials designed to help develop IT instructors. MHLW has
also announced that it will set aside a budget for including e-Learning
services in its public workplace training programs beginning FY2002.
e-Learning programs are still in their infancy in Japan, but they
are already predicted to be an efficient tool for making personnel
education more efficient and helping raise the skill levels of employees.
(August, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun)
-Manufacturing Industries Fleeing the Country-
According to a survey of major manufacturers conducted by Nihon
Keizai Shimbun, 49.1% of the companies surveyed said that they will
increase the percentage accounted for by their overseas production
in the next three years, with 22.1% of the respondents saying that
they plan to move production overseas and curtail domestic production.
The rate at which Japanese manufacturing companies are fleeing the
country shows no signs of declining.
(August, Nihon Keizai Shimbun)
Special Issue
-Government Budget for FY2002-
The Japanese government has made it its general policy to limit
government bond issues to under 30 trillion yen as part of its strategy
to undertake full-scale structural reforms which it hopes will lead
to a balanced budget. However, it has also announced that it will
allocate approximately one trillion yen in spending to the following
seven sectors: (1) the environment; (2) the declining birthrate and
aging population; (3) regional revitalization; (4) urban renewal;
(5) science and technology; (6) education and training; and
(7) information technology.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2001/vol.3/fy2002.html
