The JIL Labor Flash Vol.35
Email Journal 03.02.2003
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
Government, labor, and management agree on working to introduce
work-sharing programs featuring diverse work styles
Public Policies
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's survey reveals the status
of recent job-seekers ...etc
News Clippings
A growing number of companies placing importance on employees'
English skills ...etc
Special Issue
Rengo President speaks for first time at Liberal Democratic Party
convention
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports December 2002-
Features
General Survey on Job Seekers (2002)
Report on Worker Dispatching Business (FY2001)
Monthly Labor Survey (Preliminary Report in December)
http://www.jil.go.jp/estatis/esaikin/2002/e2002-12.htm
Current Topics
-Government, labor, and management agree on working to introduce
work-sharing programs featuring diverse work styles-
Last December, the Government, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation
(Rengo), and Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) met to
investigate the work-sharing system, and confirmed a tripartite
agreement on diverse styles of work and work sharing.
The agreement reached during this meeting was the outcome of repeated
discussions that the three parties had conducted after reaching a
tripartite agreement on work sharing in March 2002 that called for
extensive investigations from medium- to long-term perspectives.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2003a/vol.35/wsp.htm
Public Policies
-Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's survey reveals the status
of recent job-seekers-
In June 2002, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare conducted
a fact-finding survey of job seekers, the first such survey in nine
years, and released the findings at the end of the year.
The survey targeted 20,378 job seekers who were newly registered
with job placement offices throughout Japan during the month of
December, 2001, and investigated their status as of June 2002. The
number of effective responses was 13,337, and the effective response
rate was 65.4%.
As regards status at the time of job hunting, the largest number
of respondents (40.4%) had left their company due to their employers'
circumstances, followed by those who quit the company for personal
reasons and wished to switch jobs (40.0%). Together, they accounted
for 80% of the respondents. They were followed by individuals who
wished to switch jobs while still remaining with their company (8.4%);
those who wished to enter a new job market (6.3%); and those who had
closed down their own business (1.9%).
In looking at the respondents' reasons for leaving their company,
according to gender, the largest number of men (45.6%) did so for
reasons attributable to their employers, while the largest number
of women (43.4%) did so for personal reasons.
By age, 40 was the threshold age at which the share of those citing
"reasons attributable to employers" increased with age.
Of all job seekers, 47.4% of the male respondents and 51.7% of the
female respondents were able to find a job as of June 2002, indicating
that only half had succeeded. By age, the number of job seekers aged
45 and older who were unable to find work surpassed those who were.
Of job seekers unable to find work, 19.1%, or close to 20%,
discontinued their job-searching activities without finding employment.
This trend was particularly marked among the younger groups as well
as among the older groups, with 22.6% of individuals under the age
of 24 and 62.2% of individuals aged 65 and older giving up their
job-seeking efforts without finding employment.
Moreover, slightly under 20% of all the job seekers did not apply
for job openings. When asked why, many men cited "not the type of
work desired," "poor pay," and "cannot make use of my skills, ability,
or experience," while many women cited "not the type of work desired,"
"poor working conditions such as work hours and holidays," and "long
commuting time."
-Employment of individuals with disabilities drops for the first time
in 15 years-
According to the Employment Status of Disabled Individuals compiled
by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in December 2002, the
actual employment rate of the disabled in private corporations was
1.47%, down 0.02% over the previous year and the first decline since
1987.
By corporate scale, all the companies, with the exception of those
with 300 to 499 employees, saw this employment rate drop over the
previous year.
By industry, the rate dropped in all industry categories. The
exceptions were the mining and utilities industries (electricity, gas,
heat supply, and water) that employed more disabled individuals than
the previous year, and wholesale and retail industries as well as
restaurants that employed about the same number of such individuals
as the previous year.
The Law for the Employment Promotion, etc., of the Disabled mandates
private-sector companies (with 56 or more regular workers) and the
government to hire a number of disabled persons corresponding to the
legal quota rate, which is 1.8% for private firms and 2.1% for local
public organizations.
The number of companies that failed to meet these employment
obligations increased among those with fewer than 300 employees and
decreased among those with more than 300 employees.
At the end of last year, the Government included the promotion for
employment of the disabled as one of the priority tasks in its 5-Year
Plan, and set up the goal of securing employment for 600,000 disabled
individuals in five years.
News Clippings
-A growing number of companies placing importance on employees'
English skills-
The advance in internationalization, with more companies conducting
business activities overseas and collaborating with foreign-capital
companies, has resulted in an increased number of companies demanding
that their employees attain high proficiency in "practical" English.
More and more companies are requiring a set score or higher in the
Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) for employee
promotion. Some companies even mandate the use of English as their
in-house standard language. Sumida Corporation, a company specializing
in coil manufacture, introduced a system in 2000 for offering English
conversation classes for one year, then providing, to individuals
scoring 500 TOEIC points or higher, subsidies of 300,000 yen per
year for further English studies. Last year, the company mandated
that approximately 300 employees at its head office use English as
the standard language.
IBM Japan, a foreign capital company, uses English as the standard
language in most situations. For example, Japanese staff members
stationed overseas converse with other Japanese staff members in
English, and e-conference minutes and other documents are all written
in English. Because of this, in 2000, the company began including
TOEIC scores as a criterion for managerial promotion. Requirements
for promotion are a minimum of 600 points for section managers and
730 points for assistant department directors.
Foreign affiliates are not the only companies that emphasize English
skills. Beginning FY2000, Matsushita Electric Industrial has required
a minimum TOEIC score of 450 points for promotion to section manager.
(Sankei Shimbun, January)
-Spring joint labor negotiations: objections to the idea that pay
raises are no longer necessary-
The Federation of All Toyota Workers' Unions (ATWU) which comprises
the labor unions of Toyota Motor and its group companies, announced
that it would demand an average wage hike corresponding to amounts
necessary for maintaining the wage curve (equivalent to the annual
pay raise amount). It also announced that it would decide against
presenting a unified demand amount for the second straight year.
Toyota Motor is expected to register a record-high ordinary profit
for the March 2002 fiscal term.
In response, Rengo President Sasamori expressed his concern about
the image of "Even Toyota's union not demanding any wage hikes"
influencing the spring joint labor negotiations as a whole.
Meanwhile, although numerous companies responded to the 2002 spring
joint labor negotiations with zero wage hikes, Nissan Motor responded
100% to union demands with an across-the-board pay raise of 1,000 yen.
For 2003, the company's union is once again considering demanding a
wage hike of 1,000 yen, the only major automaker to do so. In
connection with this, Nissan President Carlos Ghosn stated that the
differences in business results between automakers have brought about
wage gaps, and that his company decided to respond 100% to union
demands because the differences in business results have shrunk. He
added that employees at the forefront of production supported his
reconstruction efforts despite their anxieties, and that they are
perfectly entitled to receiving a return on their efforts.
(Asahi Shimbun, January)
Special Issue
-Rengo President speaks for first time at Liberal Democratic Party
convention-
With the top priority of their activities being placed on halting
the increase in unemployment, Rengo decided to attend the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) convention for the first time since the
confederation was organized 14 years ago. The president spoke to LDP
members on January 16 and sought their cooperation in protecting jobs
and employment.
Continued on;
. http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2003a/vol35/rengo.html
