The JIL Labor Flash Vol.30
Email Journal 1.11.2002
Statistical Reports
Main Labor Economic Indicators
Current Topics
As in other industrial sectors, chemical- and energy-related
industrial unions join forces to launch the JEC Federation
Public Policies
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare proposes revisions
to employment insurance
News Clippings
What values do employees see in a company? ...etc
Special Issue
The Japanese children of today
Statistical Reports
-Main Labor Economic Indicators October 2002-
http://www.jil.go.jp/estatis/eshuyo/200210/econtents.htm
Current Topics
-As in other industrial sectors, chemical- and energy-related
industrial unions join forces to launch the JEC Federation-
In October, five industrial unions in the chemical and energy sectors
formed a new industrial organization called the Japanese Federation of
Energy and Chemistry Workers Unions, or the JEC Federation. The five
industrial unions comprise the Japanese Federation of Chemical Workers'
Unions (91,000 members); the Japan Confederation of Petroleum Industry
Workers' Unions (24,000 members); the National Organization of All
Chemical Workers (8,300 members); the National Federation of Cement
Workers' Unions of Japan (4,700 members); and the Japan Federation of
Chemical Workers' Unions (59,000 members).
In addition, the Council of Trade Unions in the Sweets Industry
(1,300 members; a fully independent organization) whose members work
in the sugar refining industry, joined the new organization under a
"bridge" system that retains the existing organization's framework.
As a result, membership of this new organization has swelled to about
180,000.
In the last issue of the JIL Labor Flash, we announced the establishment
of UI Zensen Domei, the largest private-sector industrial union in Japan.
Up to now, industrial unions in the chemical sector have severely lagged
behind other industrial unions. The establishment of JEC Federation
marks an important first step in reorganizing the Industrial unions in
this sector.
The new organization states, as one of its basic principles, that it
aims to build a major industrial union covering all the chemical and
energy sectors. To enable various industrial unions, councils, and
local unions to join while retaining their original management setups,
the JEC Federation has adopted a flexible participation format.
Of special note is its plan to accommodate, in addition to official
memberships, direct membership formats as well as a membership structure
that organizes local industries, part-time workers, and managerial-level
employees by regions and by occupational category. According to the
new organization, the role of industrial unions will concentrate on
tackling environmental issues and other cross-sectional industrial
policies that affect the chemical and energy industries as a whole.
Since the majority of businesses operating in these sectors are medium
or small in scale, moreover, JEC regards strengthening labor movements
focusing on small- to medium-scale enterprises as one of its most
important challenges.
Public Policies
-The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare proposes revisions to
employment insurance-
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have submitted to the
Labor Policy Council's Employment Insurance Sectional Committee a
proposal to reexamine employment insurance benefits. This is because
the insurance program's reserves are anticipated to be depleted by
the end of FY2003.
The proposed revisions focus on lowering the rates of unemployment
allowance benefits applicable to high income earners; unifying the
number of benefit days between regular and part-time workers to help
create a society where diverse working styles are possible; and
establishing employment promotion allowances (provisional name);
among other programs.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2002b/vol.30/employmentinsurance.html
News Clippings
-Major supermarkets hire no new graduates-
Two major supermarket chains, Seiyu Ltd. and Uny Co., Ltd., have
decided not to hire any new graduates next spring. Another leading
company, Aeon Co., Ltd., will hire no new full-time employees in FY2003.
This will be the second consecutive year that Seiyu is foregoing the
hiring of new graduates. Newly-opened stores will be staffed by part
-time workers and existing full-time employees, the company said.
Meanwhile, Daiei, which took on 372 people this spring, the largest
number of all the supermarket chains, will cut their intake to 240
next spring. The drop in the unit prices of goods is pressing various
supermarket companies to continue cutting costs, chiefly by curtailing
personnel expenses.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, October)
-What values do employees see in a company?-
Nikkei Research Inc. conducted a survey on how corporate employees
assess the value of a company. The aim was to identify which factors
the employees regarded as attractive and appealing. The survey targeted
men and women working full-time in private companies throughout Japan,
and did not include part-time workers. The survey was conducted over
the Internet. The subjects were given 80 questions such as "My company
has a clear-cut management policy," and were asked to grade them on
a scale of 1 to 5. Answers were gathered from about 2,000 people.
When asked what factors made a job offer attractive, the largest
number of respondents (32.2%) cited "the leadership qualities of the
top executive," followed (24.8%) by "two-way communication on work
goals and achievements." In contrast, few people cited education (13.0%)
and lack of personal stress (2.7%).
A researcher in charge of Nikkei Research's Marketing Bureau analyzed
the findings and said that the subjects gave high scores to both global
corporations and venture businesses whose managers demonstrate clear-cut
leadership, and regarded companies that offered gloomy prospects for
future remuneration as unattractive.
(Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, September)
Special Issue
-The Japanese children of today-
In our previous issue, we reported on how the Ministry of Health,
Labour and Welfare positioned measures and programs to halt the
shrinking number of children and secure the next generation of people
to play a major role in our society and economy as one of its priority
tasks. The results of two interesting surveys were announced recently
that revealed the status of the Japanese children of today.
One is an international comparison of parent-child relationships
conducted by Professor Nakazato of Toyo University, and the other
is a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology, which studied children's physical and motor
skills.
For the survey on parent-child relationships, responses were gathered
in Japan from about 1,400 junior and senior high school students in
Tokyo and the regions as well as from about 2,000 parents; about 500
children and parents each in the United States; and from about 500
children and about 900 parents in Turkey.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2002b/vol.30/J_children.html
