The JIL Labor Flash Vol.42
Email Journal 15.05.2003
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
The 74th Central May Day Rally ...etc
Public Policies
The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare tie up with the Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to secure personnel to work
in the agriculture and forestry sectors
News Clippings
Seibu Department Store to dismiss all regular employees working in
4 stores planned to be closed this summer ...etc
Special Issue
Revised Employment Insurance Law is enacted
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports April 2003-
http://www.jil.go.jp/estatis/esaikin/2003/e2003-04.htm
Features
Basic Survey on Business Structure and Activities (2002)
Work-Related Fatalities (FY2002)
Family Income and Expenditure Survey (March and FY2002)
Current Topics
-The 74th Central May Day Rally-
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), the National
Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), and the National Trade Union
Council (Zenrokyo) held their respective May Day Central Rallies on
May 1 in Tokyo. Fortunately, Tokyo has so far been unaffected by the
deadly SARS virus, and, held under a beautiful clear blue sky, the
event was in stark contrast to the near-deserted Tienanmen Square in
China shown on recent television.
Trade unions affiliated with Rengo had initially planned to hold
a rally on the first day of the so-called "Golden Week." This year,
however, because of the nationwide local elections taking place on
Sunday, April 27, Rengo decided to hold the event on May 1 for the
first time in three years. To broaden its organization, now centered
on the labor unions of major corporations, last year Rengo called on
NGOs and NPOs to participate in the rally. This year, a total of 30
such groups were represented on the Executive Committee, more than
last year, strengthening the collaborative setup. For this year's
May Day rally, themes such as improving the unemployment situation
and preventing the government from diluting the Labor Law were
spotlighted, under the slogan "Bring about a welfare-type society
focusing on work, and create a free and peaceful society."
Meanwhile, trade unions affiliated with Zenroren primarily voiced
their opposition to corporate restructuring, to downgrading the pension
system, and to emergency legislation on national security. Their May
Day rally was unique in that, under the slogan of "Protecting the
lives and rights of workers, and aiming at creating a peaceful,
democratic, and neutral Japan," it took on a more anti-war tone.
Zenrokyo, for its part, opposed weakening the labor laws, and
condemned the US and UK occupation of Iraq.
This year saw unemployment rates remain at a high level, and labor
unions were forced to fight a tough wage hike battle. What drew their
attention was that the total number of participants remained the lowest
ever, partly because the event was held on a weekday, and partly due
to the continued decline in the number of union members. All three
groups called for the realization of peace and restoration in Iraq
under the leadership of the United Nations.
-Lawyers' associations demanding changes in a bill to partially revise
the Labor Standards Law-
A bill to revise a part of the Labor Standards Law was decided by
the Cabinet in March, and is being submitted to the current session
of the Diet. A number of lawyers' associations, however, have called
for changes to be made to this bill.
Their major argument centers on the addition of a phrase, "employers
can dismiss workers" to the article that clearly sets forth the legal
principles governing the abuse of the right of dismissal. The associations
worry that the revision would end up changing their court operations to
attest to the legitimacy of alleged cases. On April 18, the Federation
of Bar Associations released a statement under the name of the Federation
President, concerning the partial revision of the Labor Standards Law
(dismissal rule). This was followed on April 23 by the Japan Labor
Lawyers' Group holding an emergency meeting to oppose the revision
(for the worse) of the Labor Standards Law and the Labor Dispatch Law.
The Group adopted an appeal to oppose downgrading the laws, and demanded
that the bill be revised.
Public Policies
-The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare tie up with the Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to secure personnel to work
in the agriculture and forestry sectors-
In April, the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare announced
its plan to implement a program in collaboration with the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Named "Let's Take up Farming and
Forestry," the program aims at securing personnel to newly take up
farming and forestry work, and supporting those people who decide to
take up farming.
The content of the program is as follows.
To enable people to take up farming in the way they choose, the
ministries will set up, inside 47 employment offices throughout Japan,
sections for assisting people to switch to farming and related trades,
and for providing relevant information. At the same time, similar
information provision services will be offered via the Internet.
The program will also encourage the two ministries to collaborate
in terms of information and personnel, such as by referring people
wishing to take up farming or to undergo relevant training (whose
names and data the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has gathered)
to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' consulting
center for people considering taking up a career in farming.
As for developing vocational skills and capabilities, the program
will utilize a commissioned training system that uses vocational
training courses offered by farming universities and preparatory schools
for farming. Moreover, vocational training related to farming will be
designated as one of the courses eligible for receiving educational
training subsidies from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare so
as to support the acquisition of necessary agricultural skills.
Of Japan's current 3.59 million unemployed individuals, 25,000 jobs
related to farming, forestry and fisheries were offered in FY2002.
There were 33,000 new job seekers in these sectors, with 11,000 actually
taking up such work.
News Clippings
-Seibu Department Store to dismiss all regular employees working in
4 stores planned to be closed this summer-
Seibu Department Store, currently undergoing management reconstruction,
has decided to close four stores beginning this August for organizational
restructuring purposes and to dismiss about 200 full-time employees
working at those stores. This corresponds to about 6% of the company's
entire workforce.
It is extremely unusual for a company to dismiss full-time employees
hired by the head office, instead of transferring them to other stores.
Seibu felt that, to restructure their management, it would be necessary
to drastically reduce personnel expenses. A proposal will be made to
the labor union shortly to discuss the matter.
Seibu's full-time employees are all hired at the head office in Tokyo,
then sent to various stores throughout Japan. Even when it closed two
stores at the end of 2002 (in Kochi and Utsunomiya), the company basically
enlisted voluntary retirees or reassigned employees to other stores.
Dissatisfaction will no doubt grow among the employees who will be
dismissed on this occasion as well as in labor unions, who will regard
this treatment as being unfair. The company is expected to meet
considerable opposition to its proposed adjustments.
(Asahi Shimbun, April)
-Court rules that companies need not obtain the consent of workers to
be temporarily dispatched to another company-
Nippon Steel employees who were ordered by their company to temporarily
transfer to another related company without asking them for their consent
filed a lawsuit claiming that this order was unreasonable and demanding
that it be nullified. At the first appeal hearing, the court dismissed
the appeal, ruling that said order "does not put the plaintiff at a
substantial disadvantage, and a company can order an employee to transfer
to an affiliate without obtaining his or her consent." As a result, the
employees lost the case. The chief judge pointed out that the company
declared, in its working rule, the possibility of working outside the
company, and that it had also stipulated, in its collective agreements,
wages and other treatments that took the benefits of the transferees
into consideration. The chief judge also said, "The company selects
transferees in a logical manner, and a transfer does not change work
content or conditions. These individuals do not suffer marked disadvantages
in terms of living or working conditions and workplace," concluding that
a transfer order did not constitute any abuse of rights.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, April)
Special Issue
-Revised Employment Insurance Law is enacted-
We previously reported, in JLF Vol. 33's Special Issue, that
discussions were under way last December to implement, in June,
reductions in employment insurance benefits and to raise premiums.
In the article, we stated that there were differences in views among
the government, labor and management, and that coordinating them was
expected to be difficult. However, a bill to amend the Employment
Insurance Law was passed by the Diet on April 25.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2003a/vol.42/insurance.html
