The JIL Labor Flash Vol.22
Email Journal 01.07.2002
Statistical Reports
Main Labor Economic Indicators
TANKAN
Current Topics
Summer bonus
Public Policies
Creating 1.48 million new jobs by encouraging workers to take all
their paid holidays...etc
News Clippings
Forty percent of all new employees worry that they may lose their
jobs through organizational restructuring...etc
Special Issue
Over 30% of future labor union leaders would prefer not to become
labor union officials
Statistical Reports
-Main Labor Economic Indicators June 2002-
http://www.jil.go.jp/estatis/eshuyo/200206/econtents.htm
-TANKAN-
Short-term Economic Survey of Entreprises in Japan
-Monday July 1, released by the Bank of Japan
http://www.boj.or.jp/en/siryo/stat/tk0206.htm
Current Topics
-Summer bonus-
The rainy season in Japan lasts through June and July. Except for
the northernmost island of Hokkaido, most regions see damp weather
throughout this period. But for salaried workers, this season, along
with the yearend, marks bonus time.
On June 13, Nippon Keidanren released interim findings of their
survey on the levels of bonuses companies had agreed upon for this
summer bonus season. According to their survey, 168 major companies
planned to provide bonuses averaging 744,840 yen, down 1.47% from the
previous summer.
A leading private-sector investigation agency predicts that the
amount of bonus agreed upon by all companies, including small and
medium-sized businesses, would drop by about 3% over the previous year.
It is certain that the final results, which incorporate those of 307
major companies, will reveal the first year-on-year drop in two years.
By business category, those sectors that benefited from the depreciation
of the yen, such as the automobile, shipbuilding, and vehicle sectors,
came up with figures in the interim compilation that exceeded those of
the previous year, up 7.4%, 4.2%, and 0.18%, respectively. In contrast,
bonus for electric machinery and iron and steel sectors dropped more
than 10% over the previous year, down 13.8% and 12.9%, respectively.
For most salaried workers, this year's rainy season must certainly
seem damper than usual.
Public Policies
-Creating 1.48 million new jobs by encouraging workers to take all
their paid holidays-
The Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) released on
June 7 a report drawn up by the Committee to Investigate and Study
Ideal Vacation Systems and their Effects on the Economy and Society.
The Committee was set up jointly by METI, the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport, and the Institute for Free Time Design.
According to the report, having employees take all their annual paid
holidays would create an economic stimulus worth roughly 12 trillion
yen. The report also estimates that, as a result of leisure-related
industries hiring new people and companies hiring people serving as
substitutes during employees' paid holidays, a total of 1.48 million
new jobs would be created.
At present, Japanese companies provide an annual paid holiday
averaging 18 days per employee. In spite of this, employees take only
nine days off, or half the vacation days provided. According to a
questionnaire survey targeting 2,000 employees, the biggest reasons
for their not being able to take paid holidays were "Too busy to
take a vacation," and "Cannot get hold of substitute staff."
In the hope of encouraging workers to take more time off than at
present, the Committee advised that companies closely manage their
workers' vacations. In addition, since many workers opt not to take
holidays to hedge against future illness or other emergencies, the
Committee proposed the establishment of a short-term (three days or
less) sick leave system and other programs.
-Proposals by the Group to Study Employment Systems that Allow the
Selection of Diverse and Flexible Work Styles-
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's Group to Study
Employment Systems that Allow the Selection of Diverse and Flexible
Work Styles has brought to light the current status of workers in Japan.
Their study showed that there are groups of workers in Japan, primarily
women in their 20s to 40s, and men in their 50s to 60s, who are unable
to fully demonstrate their skills and talents, and to perform at their
best. It also revealed that the Japanese people's working styles are
divided into two sharply contrasting patterns: as either regular
(full-time) employees or as non-regular employees. Regular employees
enjoy stable employment and attractive pay/benefits but are strongly
bound to their company/employer. Non-regular employees, in contrast,
experience unfavorable conditions in terms of employment stability
and pay/benefits, although they are not bound too strongly to their
company/employer, and have few obligations. The Group proposed that,
to prevent future problems from surfacing because of these contrasting
work patterns?such as growing worker discontent and resentment, and
the differences in employment conditions between men and women workers
not being resolved to general satisfaction?it was necessary to set up
work patterns that fall somewhere between these two contrasting work styles.
Here, two issues must be addressed: (1) Diversifying the working
styles of regular employees by combining them flexibly with such
factors as the degree of constraint placed by the employer, employment
security, and wages/promotions, and (2) Improving the treatment of
non-regular employees. Specifically, as examples of diverse and
flexible working styles, the Group cited such intermediate setups
such as regular employees working shorter hours, regular employees
permanently settled in one location, and regular employees restricted
to one type of job.
The report concluded that current labor-management relations are
not coping successfully with the growing trend towards more diverse,
flexible working styles. While some sources point out that acting to
change the status of employees according to the Group's proposal
carries the risk of making an already unstable employment situation
more so. In response, the Group emphasized that, overall, society
as a whole would benefit greatly from these changes.
Needless to say, there are strong calls for the establishment of
rules and regulations that would satisfy both workers and managers,
including reviewing workers' pay systems and studying the modification
of related laws and systems. However, a long, difficult road lies
ahead before these proposals can be made a reality.
News Clippings
-Forty percent of all new employees worry that they may lose their
jobs through organizational restructuring-
The Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development conducted
a survey targeting 3,941 people who joined the workforce this spring
(62.1% of whom were university graduates), to investigate their feelings
about their work.
When asked about their criteria for selecting a company, the largest
number of respondents--31.2%--cited "Ability to put my skills/abilities
and my personal identity to use." This was followed by "Interesting
work," cited by 20.1% of the respondents.
As for their feelings about their work, 90.7% said, "Since we can
no longer rely on the lifetime employment system, we cannot rely 100%
on the company." This was followed by "I am worried that I may
eventually be dismissed through corporate restructuring" (41.8%)
and "I am worried that the company may eventually go bankrupt and
collapse" (29.8%), showing their growing fear of unemployment.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, June)
-230,000 yen required each month to take care of the elderly at home-
Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. and Mitsui Sumitomo
Insurance Co., Ltd. compiled the findings of a joint questionnaire
survey on life after retirement and nursing care. The survey was
carried out in mid-March, and answers were sent in from 492 individuals.
The average amount of money they thought they would need each month
if a member of their family required nursing care was 236,000 yen.
On the other hand, the amount of money available for nursing care was
only about \202,000, revealing a gap between the amount required and
the amount they could spend.
Moreover, 55.9% of the respondents in their 60s and 62.7% of the
respondents in their 70s said that they have made financial preparations
for old age. When asked how they specifically prepared for life after
retirement, the most frequently-cited response was "cash savings"
(47.3%), followed by "personal pension programs provided by banks
and the Post Office" (20.4%), and "Life insurance-linked personal
pension schemes" (17.9%).
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, June)
Special Issue
-Over 30% of future labor union leaders would prefer not to become
labor union officials-
The Labor Research Council comprising members of the labor unions
affiliated with the Japanese Trade Unions Federation (Rengo) conducted
an awareness survey of next-generation opinion leaders. The survey
targeted young members of the executive committees of nineteen industrial
and independent unions affiliated with Rengo, including the Japanese
Electrical, Electronic and Information Unions ("Denki Rengo") and the
Japanese Federation of Textile, Garment, Chemical, Commercial, Food
and Allied Industries workers' Unions. The subjects were
mostly in their 30s, with a maximum age of 44, and were expected to
play leading roles in union activities in five to ten years' time.
Answers were sent in from 2,189 individuals, 10% of whom were women.
Some of the noteworthy and/or important questions and answers are
summarized below.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2002b/vol.22/laborunion.html
