The JIL Labor Flash Vol.44
Email Journal 16.06.2003
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
Government and labor set up meeting to discuss the bill to reform
the public service personnel system ...etc
Public Policies
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare demands the steel industry
to implement thorough measures to prevent industrial accidents ...etc
News Clippings
Non-career clerical jobs making a comeback in trading houses ...etc
Special Issue
Study under way to legalize the protection of corporate whistle-blowers
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports May 2003-
Features
Survey on homeworkers (FY2002)
Survey on Industrial Accidents (Preliminary Report in 2002)
Report on Employment Service (April) ...etc
http://www.jil.go.jp/estatis/esaikin/2003/e2003-05.htm
Current Topics
-Government and labor set up meeting to discuss the bill to reform
the public service personnel system-
In the previous issue, we featured the bill related to the reform
of the public service personnel system, which the Government hopes to
submit to the current session of the Diet. Government leaders, including
Prime Minister Koizumi, reached an agreement with labor leaders,
including Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) President Sasamori,
to set up a meeting for government and labor leaders to discuss the bill.
The Government, through discussions with relevant Cabinet ministers,
had already confirmed that the bill would be submitted. Likewise, the
ruling LDP's Committee on the Reform of the Public Service Personnel
System at the Administrative Reform Promotion Headquarters had decided
to submit the bill. However, since talks with labor unions on basic
labor rights failed to reach agreement, Committee members decided to
leave the final judgment on the Cabinet decision up to the government
and the Prime Minister's office.
The plan calls for Prime Minister Koizumi to discuss the issue once
again with the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Minister for Health, Labour
and Welfare, and the State Minister in charge of Administrative and
Regulatory Affairs, then to attend a government-labor summit meeting
and make a final decision.
Hoping for the enforcement of the law in FY2006, the Prime Minister
and his staff have been emphasizing the need to continue discussions
with the labor union side. The outcome of the summit meeting will
therefore draw keen interest.
-Increased use of IT changing workplaces and jobs-
According to reports on a survey conducted by Rengo-RIALS (Research
Institute for Advancement of Living Standards), entitled "The influence
of IT on work and workplaces," the more advanced a company is in terms
of IT introduction, the more eager it is to reform its personnel system,
such as by introducing merit-based systems and an annual salary structure
based on performance. The report also revealed that these companies
tended to be more aggressive in redesigning their business structures,
such as by implementing mergers with other companies or integration
with other companies' business departments, or spinning off parts of
the company and/or closing unprofitable divisions.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2003a/vol.44/it.htm
Public Policies
-The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare demands the steel industry
to implement thorough measures to prevent industrial accidents-
Since 2001, the steel sector, with the exception of the die casting
business, has been seeing a growing incidence of workplace-related
deaths and injuries. As of mid-May 2003, ten deaths had occurred,
exceeding the number posted in the same period last year. The Ministry
of Health, Labour and Welfare takes the matter very seriously and has
demanded the steel industry to thoroughly implement comprehensive
measures to prevent workers' accidents and injuries.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2003a/vol.44/mhlw_steel.htm
-The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare draws up guidance to
resolve the issue of unpaid overtime work-
In May, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare drew up an outline
of comprehensive measures for eliminating unpaid overtime work (so-called
"willingly contributed overtime work"), and issued it to prefectural
labor bureaus, along with guidelines incorporating measures and programs
that labor and management must tackle.
It is unclear exactly when this unpaid overtime work came to be
referred to as "willingly contributed overtime work." Since this
term dilutes the illegality of this act, and instead creates a positive
impression, many people are suggesting that this term should no longer
be used.
In its guidelines, the Ministry called for companies to improve
their corporate climate and culture by having the top executives
announce their determinations or by encouraging labor and management
to issue a joint declaration. It also demands that a labor-management
consultation organization be set up within the company to keep track of
the actual status of unpaid overtime work and to study specific
countermeasures.
News Clippings
-Non-career clerical jobs making a comeback in trading houses-
As part of their corporate restructuring efforts to cut expenses and
labor costs, trading firms have refrained from hiring non-career clerical
employees, or general office employees. Recently, however, there is a
growing move to reexamine this situation.
Sumitomo Corporation has decided to recruit non-career clerical
employees in addition to career-track staff next April. Similarly,
Itochu Corporation has launched a system that allows temporary
dispatched workers to be re-hired as regular non-career clerical
employees if, after working for one year, both they and the company
agree to shift to this permanent status.
Since the latter half of the 1990s, major trading houses have
vigorously introduced information technologies and cut their workforces.
As a result, they have discontinued hiring non-career clerical workers
and increased the number of temporary dispatched workers who earn
lower wages. However, employees of departments accepting these workers,
including those at the Personnel Department, have begun voicing concerns
that they found it difficult to assign jobs requiring confidentiality
to temporarily dispatched workers, stressing that these workers are
not as loyal to the company as regular employees. As a consequence,
the company was pressed to reexamine the practice.
(Asahi Shimbun, May)
-Can't wait until retirement?-
A growing number of corporations are introducing a system of providing
retirement allowances in advance by adding them to monthly wages and
bonuses. The aim is to reduce costs related to managing the corporate
retirement allowance system that includes pensions. The system was
introduced in response to the waning interest in lifetime employment
and the growing need among the employees--mostly young employees--to
benefit early from the results of their performance. As can be seen,
the corporate retirement pay system is becoming increasingly diversified.
Union Tools Co., Japan's top manufacturer of ultra-hard drills,
will abolish in August the existing retirement lump sum program and
the approved retirement annuity system. Instead, it will introduce
a new retirement allowance system that allows the employees to choose
either advance payment of retirement allowance or defined contribution
pension benefits.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, May)
-A system for accommodating whistle-blowing established, via outside
lawyers-
Kobe Steel, Ltd. will launch a system this month whereby outside
lawyers will serve as the link for accepting all whistle-blowing
information sent in by employees. Their decision comes in the wake of
painful experiences in the past involving illegal payoffs to "sokaiya"
racketeers who threaten to disrupt shareholders' meetings by asking
awkward questions unless bribed not to attend. The company hopes to
use this system to boost the legal compliance structure.
A Compliance Committee will be set up shortly, comprising the President
and three board directors, as well as five outside personnel, including
two lawyers. The two outside lawyers will be stationed in the Kanto and
Kansai areas to accept whistle-blowing information. Based on such
information, the committee will investigate the actual status and
recommend that the Board of Directors implement corrective measures.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, June)
Special Issue
-Study under way to legalize the protection of corporate whistle-blowers-
A study is under way to establish rules to protect consumers and to
prevent employees who have blown the whistle on their companies with
the aim of halting corporate wrongdoing, from being dismissed or
suffering other disadvantageous treatment.
A study committee set up inside the Cabinet Office has compiled a
report in May entitled "Specific contents of the system for protecting
public-interest informants." The contents were revised and modified
following internal discussions, and the report was sent to the Social
Policy Council's Consumer Policy Subcommittee, which is the Committee's
parent group. As soon as a conclusion for legalization has been reached
at this subcommittee, the Cabinet Office plans to begin formulating
a bill.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2003a/vol.44/corporate_wb.html
