The Japan Labor Flash No.78
Email Journal February 15, 2007

JILPT Information
The Japan Labor Flash Reader Questionnaire
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
Priority Issues for Major Unions at This Year's Spring Joint Labor
Negotiations
Court Orders Firm to Pay 70 Million yen for Suicide Caused by Overwork
Public Policies
Labor Policy Council Describes as "Reasonable" Draft Bills Calling
for Revisions to Three Employment Laws
News Clippings
Lawsuit on Discriminatory Treatment Related to Promotion of Workers
Engaged in Political Activities Reaches Settlement
Heightened Need for Corporate Colleges
Special Issue
Welfare Expenditures Paid by Japanese Firms

JILPT Information
The Japan Labor Flash Reader Questionnaire

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Statistical Reports

-Recent Statistical Survey Reports-

Features
Consumer Price Index (December and 2006)
Monthly Labour Survey (Preliminary Report in December and 2006)

http://www.jil.go.jp/english/estatis/esaikin/2007/e2007-01.htm

Current Topics

-Priority Issues for Major Unions at This Year's Spring Joint Labor
Negotiations-

On January 18, 2007, at a conference of representatives of affiliated
single industrial unions and regional branches, the People's Spring
Struggle Joint Committee, an organization comprising Zenroren (the
National Confederation of Trade Unions) and other unions, officially
decided on its policy for the 2007 spring struggle. This involved an
appeal to the public using this year's slogan, "no workers should be
paid 1,000 yen or less per hour," which is in line with calls for
minimum wage levels. On the same day, Rengo (the Japan Trade Union
Confederation) held a Central Executive Committee meeting to confirm
its Spring Struggle Policy for 2007.

Now that quite a few industrial unions have determined the issues
on which they will focus in the upcoming spring joint labor negotiations,
let us examine some of their key points.

UI Zensen Domei (the Japanese Federation of Textile, Chemical, Food,
Commercial, Service and General Workers' Unions), the largest private
industrial union, formerly headed by Rengo president Tsuyoshi Takagi,
has decided that it will demand a basic pay raise of 1% or more in
line with its push for the recovery of disposable incomes. It will
also seek negotiations independent of the traditionally influential
negotiations in the automobile, electrical/electronic and other
industries; thus, it has decided to ask its companies to reply to
its demands for negotiations between March 13-16, earlier than the
date of March 14 set by Kinzoku Rokyo (the Japan Council of
International Metalworkers' Federation, or IMF-JC). UI Zensen Domei
has also decided that it will conduct negotiations with an eye to
possible refusal of overtime, as well as the establishment of the
right to go on strike to be given to executive boards of unions upon
approval by a majority of union members.

In late January, Denki Rengo (the Japanese Electrical Electronic &
Information Union) chairman Masatake Nakamura reaffirmed its decision
from this year's spring negotiations to have its affiliated unions
focus on its spring struggle policy which conforms with the system
of pay-hike demands by occupation, whereby Denki Rengo would seek
the same cross-industry wage levels for the same types of occupation,
independently of the individual companies for which employees work.
Chairman Nakamura advised that they use the momentum from this new
move to rectify wage differentials between regular and non-regular
employees, and between workers at large firms and those at small and
medium-sized firms.

In the meantime, Jichiro (the All-Japan Prefectural and Municipal
Workers Union) placed emphasis on rectifying wage gaps. However, it is
urgent for Jichiro to deal first with differentials of its own, such
as wage differentials between workers at small and medium-sized firms
which serve as the core of local economies and those at workplaces
related to autonomous bodies; between civil servants and workers at
private firms providing public services; and between regular employees
and temporary and other non-regular workers.

US$=120 yen (February 15, 2007)


-Court Orders Firm to Pay 70 Million yen for Suicide Caused by Overwork-

Kyodo News reports that on January 22 the Kumamoto District Court
ruled on a lawsuit in which bereaved relatives of an employee of the
Kumamoto branch of Yamada Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Kiryu city, Gunma
Prefecture) claimed that the employee's suicide was caused by overwork,
and demanded that the firm pay compensation of approximately 93 million
yen. The court agreed that the company ignored the declining health of
the worker, and sentenced that the company should pay the plaintiffs
approximately 74.3 million yen.

Public Policies

-Labor Policy Council Describes as "Reasonable" Draft Bills Calling
for Revisions to Three Employment Laws-

On January 22, the Labor Policy Council submitted a report on three
draft bills calling for revisions to employment laws, describing them
as "reasonable." The draft bills call for partial revisions to (1)
the Employment Measure Law and the Law Concerning the Promotion of
Local Employment Development; (ii) the Law Concerning the Improvement
of Employment Management, etc. of Part-Time Workers (Part-Time Work Law);
and (iii) the Employment Insurance Law.

The draft of bill (i) concerns securing employment opportunities
for young workers via, for example, improving recruitment and hiring
methods, and establishing practical vocational training programs;
requiring firms to report the employment situation of foreign workers;
and promoting employment in regions where employment opportunities
are insufficient, among others.

The draft of bill (ii) concerns ensuring that part-time workers are
treated as well as full-time, regular workers.

The draft of bill (iii) concerns revisions to insurance premium rates
and the development of standardized criteria relating to categories of
qualifications of insured persons. Concerning revisions to special
lump-sum payments paid to seasonal and other type of workers, the draft
refers to the view of a committee member representing labor that the
level of benefits should be maintained in consideration of the financial
and other circumstances of the beneficiaries. The Ministry of Health,
Labour and Welfare is to submit these bills to an ordinary session of
the Diet.

News Clippings

-Lawsuit on Discriminatory Treatment Related to Promotion of Workers
Engaged in Political Activities Reaches Settlement-

A lawsuit, in which a total of 168 employees and others of
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. called on the firm
for an apology and compensation, claiming that they did not receive
promotions due to their engagement in union activities and support
for a particular political party, has reached a settlement. The company
has admitted discriminatory treatment, promising to prevent a recurrence,
and is to pay approximately 1 billion yen in the settlement.

According to the attorneys for the plaintiffs, the company had
practiced discriminatory treatment since the late 1960s based on
employees' political beliefs, especially if the employees were
supporters of the communist party or had engaged in union activities.
The workers, their attorneys claimed, were barred from promotion to
higher posts and excluded from social gatherings at the workplace.

The company expressed regret for its behavior in a memorandum
agreeing to reconciliation, saying "it would take seriously incurable
pain and suffering". The attorneys for the plaintiffs welcomed the
ruling, saying that "the number of workers involved in the reconciliation
of a dispute over employment discrimination based on political beliefs
is the largest. This was a landmark event in that the firm clearly
expressed remorse."

A similar lawsuit was brought to the Tokyo District Court in March
2000 by eight employees who demanded compensation for damages; the
lawsuit reached a settlement in March 2004, under which the company
promised to pay approximately 168 million yen to cover past wages and
the settlement amount. The 168 plaintiffs who reached a settlement in
the latest lawsuit were not covered by this lawsuit and continued
negotiations with the company.
(Asahi Shimbun, January)


-Heightened Need for Corporate Colleges-

The idea of "corporate colleges" is becoming popular among Japanese
companies. In such colleges, companies offer a large number of courses
to train their employees, while employees choose and attend courses
suitable for them. A unique feature is that employees are able to
design their own training schedules according to their objectives.
Companies, on the other hand, aim to enhance the value of outcome of
their training by stimulating motivation for learning.

RS Components Co., a supplier of electronic and electrical components,
has established a corporate college with an eye to self-training by
employees. Although "enrollment" is not reflected in personnel
evaluations, the college is generally welcomed by employees: the
average number of credits acquired by employees in non-managerial
posts, including contract staff, totaled 65.9 in fiscal year 2005,
while the figure for employees in managerial posts averaged 82.5.
Of some 300 courses, approximately 100 courses were launched based
on suggestions from the employees themselves.

A group leader in charge of human resource development at Shiseido
Co.,Ltd. insists that it is essential for firms to establish corporate
colleges if they are to develop and survive in a hundred years' time.
In April this year, Shiseido is to open a corporate college for all
employees of its group companies in Japan, some 15,000 in all. The
university will provide them with opportunities to improve their
business skills, while instilling them with the corporate philosophy.
The group leader says that the improvement of employees' skills and
knowledge will be achieved by reorganizing and integrating current
training programs.
(Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, January)

Special Issue

-Welfare Expenditures Paid by Japanese Firms-

This issue of the Japan Labor Flash will introduce the findings of
the 2005 Survey on Corporate Welfare Expenditure conducted by Nippon
Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation).

The survey targeted 1,685 firms which belong to industry organizations
affiliated with the Federation or which were members of the Federation;
645 firms responded (firms in the manufacturing sector accounted for
49.8% of the responses and those in the non-manufacturing sector 50.2%;
firms with fewer than 1,000 employees accounted for 41.6% and those
with 1,000 or more employees 58.4%). The number of employees per firm
who responded averaged 3,775, their average age being 40.5. The survey
covered employees who join health insurance schemes, thus it includes
some part-time workers together with what is termed regular employees.

Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2003/no.78/78_si.html