Guarantee basic labor rights to government employees -- Akahata editorial, June 24The International Labor Organization (ILO) has again recommended the Japanese government, which is promoting reforms of the government employee system, to review its policy of maintaining restrictions on basic labor rights for government employees. The Japanese government last November rejected the ILO's recommendation saying, "It isn't acceptable."
The recommendation urges the government to revise the relevant domestic laws in accordance with the ILO "principle of freedom of association" which guarantees rights of organization and collective bargaining.
The Japanese Constitution guarantees all workers basic labor rights. Government employees were once endowed with these rights for some time after World War II. However, in 1948 the U.S. occupation forces ordered the government workers the right to strike with the aim of suppressing their struggles, and the government followed the order. Today Japanese public employees have no right to strike and have no collective bargaining for labor contracts. This is in violation of the constitution and international labor standards.
The government's reform plan is designed to limit the role of recommendations by the National Personnel Authority and instead give authority regarding personnel management to each ministry and agency.
The government intends to submit the reform bills to the Diet without any sufficient discussion or agreement with government employees' unions.
To guarantee those employees the democratic rights established in the constitution is indispensable for limiting administrative powers and for pushing ahead with administration in the interests of the people as "servants of the public." This is a natural principle for a democratic nation.
The government should seriously consider the second ILO recommendation and drastically review its reform plan in order to guarantee government employees basic labor rights. (end)