 Telecommunication workers resolve to defend Article 9 and increase opposition to NTT corporate restructuring The Telecommunication Workers' Union held its annual convention for three days from August 28 in Osaka City and adopted an action plan that calls for the defense of the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution as top item on its agenda. It also decided to increase opposition to the ongoing large-scale anti-worker corporate restructuring at NTT, and to increase the union's membership. In the opening speech, Chair Iwasaki Takashi called on the 200,000 workers of NTT, the nation's largest telecommunication company, to set up a grassroots-based "Article 9 Committee" and take part in its activities from their places of work, residences and neighborhoods. Referring to the fact that last year's NTT profit increased to 1.5 trillion yen mainly due to corporate restructuring, he proposed to rouse public criticism of NTT for such a way of streamlining at the cost of workers. In pursuing massive corporate restructuring, NTT is urging workers to choose between retiring at 50 and being rehired by subsidiaries at lower wages, distant transfers and transfers to other types of jobs. The TCWU consists of workers of NTT group companies and its affiliates, and is part of the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren). (end) |