Toyota workers criticize their union for forcing them to vote for DPJ in election

Workers at Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top-ranking car maker, are criticizing the trade union for forcing its members to vote for a Democratic Party candidate in the general election.

On October 21, a group of union members published an open letter asking the union to stop urging its members to vote for the Democratic Party of Japan candidate (whom Toyota Motor supports).

The union demanded that its members to submit certificates confirming that not only the worker but their family members really cast absentee ballots. The union stated that the call for absentee voting is because of the lesson from the previous general election in which many union members did not cast ballots on election day.

The union also handed out posters of the DPJ candidate, and union leaders visited homes to see if the posters are displayed on the doors.

A union member said, "The union does nothing to improve the very bad working conditions. It is intolerable that it forces us, and even our family members, to vote for the DPJ in the general election".

At Toyota workshops, working for long hours under tight work schedules is routine. A worker on the night shift ending at 12:40 a.m. often has to work till around four in the morning. Workers grumble that overtime work is slowly killing them. (end)