The JIL Labor Flash Vol.50
Email Journal 16.09.2003
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
Status of employees' mental health deteriorating
Public Policies
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's FY2004 budget requests
and priority policies
News Clippings
Practice of unpaid overtime work spreading to part-time and
temporary workers ...etc
Special Issue
Results of the 2003 spring joint labor negotiations and corporate
moves pertaining to periodic pay raises
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports August 2003-
Features
Basic Survey on Schools (FY2003)
Report on Employment Service (July)
Opinion Poll on Life of People
http://www.jil.go.jp/estatis/esaikin/2003/e2003-08.htm
Current Topics
-Status of employees' mental health deteriorating-
A FY2003 fact-finding survey conducted by the Japan Productivity
Center for Socio-Economic Development targeting labor unions produced
findings that were more serious than those of surveys conducted last
year targeting corporations.
The survey, targeting 873 labor unions randomly selected from local
unions throughout Japan, took the form of a questionnaire. Responses
were sent in from 241 unions, or 27.6%.
The survey found that 67.2% of the labor unions felt that the number
of members suffering from mental diseases had increased over the past
three years (versus 48.9% of the respondents in last year's corporate
survey who were asked the same question). Of the respondents belonging
to labor unions with 3,000 or more members, moreover, the rate was a
shockingly high 81.5%. A total of 63.5% of the labor unions had members
unable to work for one month or more due to depression and other mental
illnesses. Of these labor unions, 140 or 90.9% predicted that such
members would continue to increase.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2003b/vol.50/jpc_mh2003.html
Public Policies
-Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's FY2004 budget requests and
priority policies-
At the end of August, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
compiled a draft of their budget requests for next fiscal year.
Their budgets focused on (1) pension system reform, for which a bill
is planned to be submitted to the next ordinary Diet session,
(2) programs to support the fostering of the next generation of people
aimed at putting a stop to the declining birth rate, and (3) employment
measures targeting long-term unemployed workers and youths.
The Ministry requested a general account budget of 20 trillion 215.4
billion yen, which was 836.7 billion yen more than the previous fiscal
year, and a special account budget of 69 trillion 556.5 billion yen,
which was 317.1 billion yen less than the previous year.
Some of the projects planned to be launched include job placement
support services for long-term unemployed workers that are commissioned
to private-sector enterprises, and the Japanese-style dual system of
providing education and training to youths in conjunction with practical
training in corporations.
The Ministry budgeted a total of 59.6 billion yen for programs to
support and promote early re-employment. An additional 70.9 billion yen
was allocated to implement personalized, detailed employment support
services catering to the unique circumstances and characteristics of
unemployed individuals. The key to do this is to boost employment
support targeting long-term unemployed workers; and the Ministry has
decided to spend 1.2 billion yen to embark, full-scale, on support
programs that utilize private-sector enterprises.
A total of 33 billion yen was incorporated into programs to promote
the employment and re-employment of young individuals. The Ministry
allocated 8.9 billion yen for the dual system, anticipating launching
the program for about 40,000 such people.
As one of the new programs, the Ministry announced it planned to
help employees on leave of absence from work due to depression and
other mental illnesses to return to work. The program will provide
individuals with training to improve their interpersonal skills or
get re-acclimatize themselves to the workplace, and also to provide
advice to corporations. A total budget of 39 million yen was allocated
for this program. Activities are expected to continue after the next
fiscal year, to further boost the content of the program.
1US$≒\117 (September 2003)
News Clippings
-Practice of unpaid overtime work spreading to part-time and temporary
workers -
The practice of unpaid overtime work is spreading even to part-time
and temporary workers. The backdrop to this practice, which traditionally
was thought to involve only regular, full-time employees, is the increase
in work volume of non-regular employees as a result of growing layoffs
and other corporate restructuring measures. No clear-cut regulations
on overtime work are in place, revealing the vulnerable position of
these non-regular workers who, for fear of losing their jobs, have
no choice but to comply.
In February of this year, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation,
or Rengo, implemented nationwide telephone consultation services on
work-related problems, and received numerous questions pertaining to
unpaid overtime work. According to Rengo's Director of Labor Conditions,
about 10% of all consultation requests were sent in by non-regular
workers, with the number of such calls having increased sharply over
the past year or two.
One of the contributing factors to the spread of unpaid overtime
work is the growing number of non-regular employees being appointed
to higher posts, such as "part-time store managers." The Young Contingent
Workers' Union, to which many non-regular employees, including job-hopping
part-time workers, are affiliated, declares that a growing number of
part-time workers are assigned actual management tasks, such as
becoming "shift leaders," and that these individuals are compelled to
work overtime when there are staff shortages. The Union adds that the
more responsibilities an individual is given, the more extra work he
or she must take up, and therefore the more stressed he or she becomes.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, August)
-Matsushita Electric Industrial employees' resolute course of action-
Matsushita Electric Industrial recently decided to close down its
two motor factories in Takefu City, Fukui Prefecture. In response,
the employees took concerted action to protect their jobs. What they
did resembles an Employee Buy-out, or EBO: they pooled their money,
set up a manufacturing company, and carried on their operations.
The two new companies to be established in October with funds
invested by the employees will have Matsushita lending the factories
and facilities, and even providing raw materials and other resources.
In other words, Matsushita and the new companies will enter into a
production consignment relationship, with the former paying the
processing fees to the companies funded by their former employees.
Viewed from the Matsushita side, this arrangement is like killing
two birds with one stone. They can evade the criticism that they are
driving their employees out of work while discontinuing domestic
production, and can also fulfill their responsibility to supply
products to their clients.
The restructuring by Matsushita and other Japanese companies of their
domestic production bases as a result of their shift to China-based
production is about to enter a new phase.
(Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, August)
-Offices physically transforming themselves and saving space-
A growing number of offices are recently embracing a less structured
layout by not fixing the positions of the desks and chairs where the
employees work. This "free address" system is not merely a rearrangement
of office space: behind it is the revolution in employees' styles of
work and the organizational structure.
NEC Soft, Ltd. began introducing this system in 2000 for a part of
its System Engineering Department. The company reduced its office
space by a third and cut back on their rent. The company was able
to save about 60 million yen a year thanks to this "free address"
system.
JR Bus Kanto, meanwhile, introduced the free address system and
eliminated the president's room, the board directors' rooms, and
department-specific rooms. The company chairman emphasizes that their
goal was to move away from what was an outdated system and become an
organization enabling free interchanges. He noted that, by having the
president share the same desk with his employees, he can make decisions
much more quickly than before.
(Asahi Shimbun, August)
Special Issue
-Results of the 2003 spring joint labor negotiations and corporate
moves pertaining to periodic pay raises-
According to the status of major private companies' wage hike demands
and settlement results of 2003 spring joint labor negotiations, released
at the end of August by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare,
the wage hike rate for this year's spring labor negotiations was 1.63%.
This was 0.03 percentage points lower than last year's record-low level,
and was the lowest rate ever since data compilation began in 1965.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2001-2003/2003b/vol.50/results_sjln2003.html
To our Readers: “The JIL Labor Flash” to be issued by a new publisher
and under a new name
On October 1, 2003, the Japan Institute of Labour, the publisher of
the JIL Labor Flash, will be reorganized into the Japan Institute for
Labour Policy and Training, an independent administrative institution.
In conjunction with this move, "The JIL Labor Flash" will change its
name to "The Japan Labor Flash." The new issue will make a fresh new
start, beginning with Vol. 1.
The new Labor Flash will describe the activities and research programs
of the new organization as well as its accomplishments, and deliver all
the latest information on Japan that will no doubt interest you.
We will continue to deliver the new Labor Flash to our current Readers.
