Asia-Pacific trade unions hold discussion in Tokyo

Labor union representatives from nine countries in the Asia-Pacific region and two international union organizations exchanged accounts of their activities and views in Tokyo on July 26 at a meeting sponsored by the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren).

Zenroren leaders and 15 union representatives from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam discussed common concerns, including globalization, the increase in non-regular workers, and efforts to organize workers.

Participants spoke about increasing economic globalization, the international transfer of goods, money, and personnel, privatization in the interests of multinational corporations, and deregulations, making employment more unstable and worsening working conditions in many countries.

International participants also criticized the U.S.-led Iraq war and expressed support for Japanese workers' struggles against an adverse revision of the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution. (end)