JCP announces emergency proposal for job security

The Japanese Communist Party on September 1 announced a set of emergency proposals to secure jobs against corporate restructuring.

The proposal consists of four main demands: end unpaid overtime to create 1.6 million jobs; secure jobs for young people under the responsibility of the government and large corporations; increase jobs in public sectors related to people's livelihood; and have the central government give financial aid to local government efforts to increase jobs.

At a news conference on the day, JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi said that by just ending unpaid overtime work to increase job availability, the unemployment rate will go down by 2.4 percent and gross domestic product will increase by 2.5 percent.

Ichida also said that the JCP demands that names of corporations repeatedly forcing workers into unpaid overtime work be disclosed, and that a special committee be set up in the Diet aimed at eliminating such unpaid overtime work.

On securing jobs for young people, Ichida said that the JCP has proposed that a company be obliged to put temporary workers on the regular payroll after they have worked for a year with the company as contingent staff. The JCP proposal includes an increase in employment according to plans in such public sectors as welfare, medical services and education.

Ichida said that the JCP proposal makes social common sense, and that the JCP is willing to achieve the goals by cooperating with others parties overriding political differences and conflicts of interests on immediate issues. (end)