27 Oki workers get 1 million yen each for unpaid overtime

Workers' struggles and Diet debate by Japanese Communist Party Dietmembers have forced telecommunication equipment company Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. into paying its workers unpaid wages for overtime work.

The long-established electric company paid a total of 27 million yen (about 220,000 dollars) to 27 workers in June.

Oki Electric has cut its workforce by 6,200 in four years since 1998, and will further eliminate 1,300 personnel. The number amounts to about one-fourth of total workers.

Due to such shortage of labor, overtime of 80 hours a month was not sufficient for their actual workload, and the company ignored paying workers' wages for overtime exceeding 20 hours a month.

Since September 2001, however, pressed by Diet deliberations and public opposition, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare issued an official order to eradicate unpaid overtime work.

Oki Electric's workers, above the limits of tolerance, got up the courage to speak out against the illegal working conditions in their workplace, and JCP Dietmember Yoshikawa Haruko also took up the issue at the Diet.

Such efforts motivated the Labor Standards Inspection Office to conduct on-the-spot inspections over 10 times and issue corrective and administrative advice to Oki Electric.

Knowing the illegality of unpaid overtime from a handbill delivered by the workers, an Oki Electric shareholder asked the company to end the practice of unpaid overtime work at a stockholders meeting.

A worker said, "I really feel that our efforts have improved the company." (end)