Declaration of Mutual Agreement to Promote "Social Agreement on Employment"

Japan Federation of Employers' Associations and Japan Trade Union Confederation


At the "Declaration of Employment Security" in October 1999 between labor and management, Japan Federation of Employers' Associations (Nikkeiren) and Japan Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) confirmed that the labor and management would make all possible efforts to resolve serious employment situations, and would perform each social responsibility in order to maintain and create employment.

However, as our internal economy is in down turn for long period of time, the internal employment situation already in serious condition would become even more worse with the implementation of structural reform programs including disposal of non-performing loans in future, together with the aspect of synchronized recession of global economy due to multiple terrorism in the United States. In order to get out of this impasse, Nikkeiren and Rengo have agreed to expand further the purport of aforesaid declaration of 1999 to make all possible effort on the points listed below. While we request to enrich further the governmental policies, we also determine to propel the achievement of "Social Agreement for Employment" by Government, management and labor.

Contents:

1. To promote the Social Agreement on preservation and creation of employment Nikkeiren and Rengo will make maximum effort on the following points, and make approaches to the labor and management of individual company in order to resolve the current situation of serious deterioration of employment.

(1) As for the problems calling for immediate solution;
1. The management will maintain and create employment and suppress unemployment.
2. The labor will cooperate to reinforce the base of management such as to improve productivity and reduce cost, and to adapt flexible to a raise in wages.

(2) In order to fulfil the preservation and creation of employment, Nikkeiren and Rengo will try to come to mutual agreement on working diversity as well as work sharing, and management and labor will work toward the arrangement of adequate proportion of employment, salary and working hour.

(3) The labor and management will work on appropriate evaluation and fair treatment according to one's task, improvement of occupational ability, fair management of working hour and improvement of working method.


2. Request to the government, and promotion of the Social Agreement among government, labor and management.
The close cooperation among government, labor and management is vital to draw up and implement employment policy. We request the Government to expand the comprehensive employment policies settled already, to support the effort to realize the mutual agreement between labor and management, and to enforce following measures in order to maintain and create employment.

(1) Realization of further expansion of safety net concerning employment using the general finance, as a measure for the present.

(2) Examination of the detail of vocational training and expansion of the system of the public employment security office (Hallow Work), in order to ensure that the introduction of the work will result in entering new employment.

(3) Creation of new employment opportunity by supporting the development of new businesses in the fields of housing, telecommunication, environment, welfare and medical care, for example, through the reform of tax system and regulation. Also supporting the effort to make plan for creating job in each region by labor and management, or by government, labor and management.

(4) Examination of the tax/social security system without delay so that to expand a choice of working diversity, and to provide necessary environment for it.


In order to realize each approach listed above, we will promote the formation of social agreement by government, labor and management through, for example, the tripartite meeting of government, labor and management for employment measures. Also, Nikkeiren and Rengo will establish a place of the discussion for materializing the policy.