The Japan Labor Flash No.33
Email Journal March 1, 2005
JILPT Information
The Japan Labor Flash Reader Questionnaire
Statistical Reports
Main Labor Economic Indicators
Current Topics
More people oppose than support the idea that husbands should work
and wives stay home …etc.
Public Policies
Forty percent of Tokyo-based corporations are concerned about
overwork inducing health problems among their employees
Public Policies
Suntory tops list of companies graduating college students wish
to work for …etc.
Public Policies
Spring joint labor negotiations starts full scale
JILPT Information
The Japan Labor Flash Reader Questionnaire
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Statistical Reports
-Main Labor Economic Indicators-
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/estatis/eshuyo/200503/index.htm
Current Topics
-More people oppose than support the idea that husbands should work
and wives stay home-
On February 7, the Cabinet Office released the results of a public
opinion poll on a gender-equality society. The poll targeted 5,000
randomly selected men and women throughout Japan over the age of 20.
Responses were sent in from 3,502 individuals, comprising 1,616 men
and 1,886 women.
Regarding their views on family life, 48.9% of the respondents
opposed the notion that "husbands should work outside the home and
wives should stay home and take care of their family," and 45.2%
supported it. For the first time since the survey began in 1992, the
number of people who opposed this notion surpassed that of those who
supported it. Medium-scale cities saw a large number of residents
who supported the idea, while towns and villages saw a large number
of residents who opposed it. When asked about the status of men and
women at the workplace, 59.5% said that men were being given
preferential treatment, and 25.0% said that men and women were being
treated equally.
-Toyota Motor to introduce a system of re-employing retired employees,
in principle-
Following an agreement reached between labor and management at
this spring's joint labor negotiations, Toyota Motor intends to
introduce a new system, starting FY2006, to reemploy, in principle,
employees who have retired at the mandatory age of 60.
Until now, companies in the automotive industry including Toyota
as well as Nissan and Honda have been reemploying only a limited
number of retired workers.
It appears that Toyota has decided to adopt this new system in
anticipation of the massive retirement of baby-boomer generation
workers that will take place in 2007, and the fear that fewer skills
will be passed on to younger workers. Another reason for this may be
to cope with the contraction in the labor force that is likely to
result from the continuing fall in the birthrate that is being
predicted for the future.
If Toyota, which employs over 60,000 people in Japan alone, goes
ahead with the launch of this new system, it is expected to have
a considerable impact on the industrial world.
Public Policies
-Forty percent of Tokyo-based corporations are concerned about
overwork inducing health problems among their employees-
The Tokyo Labour Bureau released in February the findings of its
2004 questionnaire survey on employees' health management and other
issues.
According to the survey report, concerning the status of overwork,
382 companies recorded overtime or holiday work exceeding 100 hours
per month, or exceeding 80 hours per month if the figures of 2 to
6 months were averaged; and 238 companies saw the likelihood of
having such long hours of work from now on. The Tokyo Labour Bureau
concludes that 620 companies (the sum of these two types of companies,
or 57.9% of the total companies surveyed), carried the risk of their
employees developing overwork-induced heath problems.
A comparison of the present findings with those of the past shows
the proportion of corporations that had such overtime work has
increased each year, from 24.9% in FY2002 to 31.9% in FY2003 and
35.7% in FY2004.
The survey also revealed that 38.3% of the corporations were
concerned about their employees developing cerebral and/or cardiac
disorders due to overwork, and that 33.8% were concerned about their
employees developing mental disorders. However, the chief measures
that companies took to prevent health problems of employees were to
implement smoking-related programs and boost mental health measures.
The proportion of companies that encouraged their employees to take
paid holidays and reduce overtime work remained low for both.
When asked if they had legally-stipulated occupational health
management setups in place to promote prevention of overtime-induced
health problems, 10.6% of the companies said that they had not yet
appointed a occupational health supervisor (the rate was 23.6% in
FY2003 and 17.2% in FY2002), and 4.1% said that they had not yet
appointed an industrial physician (17.6% in FY2003 and 7.6% in FY2002),
indicating that the status of appointment of such personnel has
improved. Nevertheless, implementation of workplace inspection tours
by industrial physicians--their occupational duty--and the activities
of the Occupational Health Committee that are obligated to hold
meetings once a month, still remain at a low level. Thus, corporate
occupational health management activities are by no means adequate
or sufficient.
Health problems caused by overwork have become a serious social
issue. To meet society's demands to prevent such problems, the
Bureau has been implementing this survey each year since 2002. This
year, responses were sent in from 1,071 companies headquartered in
Tokyo with 300 or more employees, for a response rate of 27.9%.
Public Policies
-Suntory tops list of companies graduating college students wish
to work for-
A survey, conducted by Nihon Keizai Shimbun's Advertising Bureau
on companies that graduating college students wish to work for,
showed that companies that were popular among female students were
ranked high on the overall list.
Ranked first was Suntory (2nd last year); 2nd was All Nippon Airways
(4th last year); and 3rd was JTB (ranked 1st last year). Besides these
top 3 companies, 5th place Japan Airlines (6th last year) and 8th
place Shiseido (10th last year) were also popular among female students.
By type of industry, "telecommunications, information, education,
and publishing" was ranked No.1 for the second straight year. Like
the previous year, electronics and electric machinery came 2nd, and
agriculture, forestry, mining, fisheries and food came 3rd.
The survey was conducted from October to December 2004, and responses
were sent in from 4,553 students planning to graduate next spring from
112 major universities nationwide.
(Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, February)
-Enhancing work skills while on childcare leave-
A growing number of women have begun taking advantage of their
maternal and childcare leave periods to enhance their work skills.
They make use of a website that supports these women's lives during
childcare leave, and take courses for obtaining licenses and
certifications.
An Internet program, developed by Shiseido to help their employees
to return to work smoothly after their childcare leave, is now in
its third year of operation. Shiseido consistently has about 350
employees who are on maternal and/or childcare leave. About 200 of
these employees make use of the program. Besides Shiseido, 73
companies have introduced such programs, including manufacturers such
as Bandai as well as financial institutions and mass media companies.
Until now, a total of 800 individuals have accessed the website with
the aim of returning to work someday.
Many women are also utilizing general correspondence courses.
Nihon Tsushin Kyoiku Renmei, or The Japan Correspondence Education
Association notes an increase in the number of women who have begun
studying for a license or certification during their maternal and
childcare leave periods. The Renmei's Public Relations Department
points out that many women who set foot in the world of correspondence
courses have financial worries, such as their husbands being laid off
due to corporate restructuring, or are concerned whether their company
will allow them to return to work after their childcare leave expires.
To alleviate the psychological burden of perceiving maternal and
childcare leave as a "void" in their careers, to allow them
to return
to work with confidence, and to encourage them to try taking up new
jobs, it is important that they make efforts in the form of academic
studies or higher education. These activities, carried out while
placing emphasis on childrearing, are expected to gain further
momentum.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, February)
Public Policies
-Spring joint labor negotiations starts full scale-
In mid-February, major labor unions submitted their demands, and
spring joint labor negotiations (shunto) for this year have officially
begun on a full scale.
In our previous issues, we have reported that a special feature of
this year's shunto was a shift in the focus of demand from basic wage
increases to lump sum payments. Still, the General Federation of Private
Railway and Bus Workers' Union of Japan decided on a unified demand
amount of 1,500 yen and, like in the previous year, an annual wage
increase rate of 2.1%, while the Japan Railway Trade Unions Confederation
decided on a unified demand amount of 1,000 yen. Furthermore, there
are moves to bring basic wage increases to the forefront of their
negotiations, such as Zenroren, or the National Confederation of Trade
Unions, deciding to set up the goal of "a wage increase of over 10,000
yen for everyone," like last year.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2005/no.33/33_si.html
