DPJ turns its back on Rengo, favoring business circles

The Democratic Party of Japan has shelved promises it made with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), its main support base. The DPJ instead looks toward business circles.

The DPJ and Rengo signed an agreement that includes the establishment of a national economy without unemployment and the elimination of the wasteful use of tax money.

The outcome, however, was that the DPJ's election platform called "manifesto" dropped important items in the DPJ-Rengo agreement on labor issues, replacing them with what business circles have requested concerning a change in the basic pension scheme and a 10 percent cut in public service personnel costs.

Rengo repeatedly pressed the DPJ to insert the pro-labor items in its manifesto, but in vain, reported the Rengo newsletter.

An executive of a Rengo-affiliated workers' union said, "The DPJ has turned its back on workers' unions in a major shift of focus to obtain support from business circles." (end)