The JIL Labor Flash Vol.29
Email Journal 15.10.2002
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
UI Zensen Domei, the largest private-sector industrial workers'
union, established
Public Policies
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to set up a Headquarters
for Promoting Countermeasures to the Shrinking Number of Children
News Clippings
Companies decide to do away with new employees' initiation ceremonies
...etc
Special Issue
Actual status of the rapidly increasing number of part-time workers
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports September 2002-
Features
Fact-Finding Survey on Child-Care Leave of General Government Officials
and Questionnaire on Male Government Officials with Child-Care Leave
Experience
Opinion Poll on Life of People
http://www.jil.go.jp/estatis/e2002-09.htm
Current Topics
-UI Zensen Domei, the largest private-sector industrial workers'
union, established-
Three industrial unions affiliated with Rengo (the Japanese Trade
Union Confederation), were merged in September to form the Japanese
Federation of Textile, Chemical, Food, Commercial, Service and General
Workers' Unions (abbreviated to UI Zensen Domei). The three unions
were previously 1) the Japanese Federation of Textile, Garment,
Chemical, Commercial, Food and Allied Industries Workers' Union,
which primarily represents workers in the textile and distribution
sectors (membership: 621,733); 2) the Japanese Federation of Chemical,
Service and General Trade Unions, which represents workers in the
chemical, pharmaceutical, and service sectors (membership: 171,781);
and 3) the Federation of Textile Clothing and Living Goods Workers'
Unions of Japan, which represents the regional textile industries
(membership: 1,420).
The new organization has a total of 795,000 members, making it the
largest private-sector industrial union, overtaking the Japanese
Electrical, Electronic and Information Union (membership: approximately
720,000) and the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions
(membership: approximately 720,000).
As their proposed policies for future action, the UI Zensen Domei
cites equal treatment for part-time workers, and the expansion of
the organization to reach a membership of one million.
The Federation regards part-time workers as their main target for
expansion, and, while pointing out the problem of declining intra
-company union organization rates as a result of increased numbers
of non-regular employees, it stresses the need to organize 20,000
part-time workers each year into unions to raise intra-company
organization rates.
About 30,000 workers leave labor unions each year because of
corporate bankruptcies or streamlining. To maintain and expand the
organization, therefore, the UI Zensen Domei has set a goal of
acquiring a minimum of 50,000 new union members each year, including
part-time workers.
Among the improvement programs and initiatives planned include
building a collaborative network in regional areas to transcend the
framework of enterprise-based unions, and reducing part-time workers'
basic membership fees (\800 per month per member) by providing
subsidies covering 50 to 70% of the amount.
Public Policies
-The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to set up a Headquarters
for Promoting Countermeasures to the Shrinking Number of Children-
To further strengthen measures and programs to offset the shrinking
number of children, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has
worked out a plan entitled Countermeasures to the Shrinking Number of
Children Plus One, and submitted it to Prime Minister Koizumi. The
plan was approved at the Cabinet meeting held on September 20. The
Ministry's planned initiative calls for, among other things, the whole
of society to promote so-called "work-sharing through diversified
styles of work" through increasing shorter work hours or working every
other day, for example.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2002b/vol.29/mhlw_child.html
News Clippings
-Companies decide to do away with new employees' initiation ceremonies-
This year, Fujitsu Ltd. abolished the conventional-style initiation
ceremony for new employees. Instead, the company held an informal
party not on April 1, the date most companies usually hold initiation
ceremonies, but after the end of its newcomer training sessions. New
employees shared a glass of beer with the company's chairman, president,
and board directors and chatted in a casual atmosphere. Fujitsu planned
this event to enable its new employees, whose awareness of work had
been raised through newcomer training sessions, to talk in depth with
the board directors about various topics. The number of companies
abolishing initiation ceremonies is on the rise in recent years,
including Sony Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Orix Corporation.
The backdrop to these changes is the general trend of dropping formal
ceremonies, as well as changing employment formats, such as increased
mid-career hiring.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, September)
-NTT employees bring class action against their employer-
Twenty-two employees of NTT East Japan and NTT West Japan have
instituted a lawsuit against their employers and taken their action
to the Tokyo District Court as well as courts in four other cities.
The employees, who were forced to relocate to remote areas under NTT
Group's rationalization plan, demanded that the court confirm the
invalidity of this reassignment, and that the companies pay compensation
for damages suffered by the said employees. In line with the rational
ization plan implemented in May of this year, the plaintiffs were
forced to choose between re-employment at a subsidiary at reduced
wages, or to remain with the company regardless of their place of
work. If they refused to give an answer, they were reportedly ordered
to relocate to remote areas and take on different types of work.
(Asahi Shimbun, September)
Special Issue
-Actual status of the rapidly increasing number of part-time workers-
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare compiled the results
of their Comprehensive, Fact-Finding Survey on Part-Time Workers
for 2001, and released them in September as a flash report. The survey
reveals the actual status of part-time work in present Japan.
First, the survey showed that there were approximately 11.18 million
part-time workers, 3.2 million more than recorded in the previous
survey of 1995.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2002b/vol.29/part_time.html
