labor

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Government aims at drastic adverse revision of labor law system

The government took a step toward a drastic adverse revision of the labor law system by gutting the 40-hour work week system and enacting a labor contract law in the interests of large corporations.

The Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry on June 13 showed an outline of the labor contract bill and the revision of the work-hour system to the Labor Policy Advisory Council. An interim report on labor bills to be submitted to the Diet next year is expected to come out in July.

The plan proposes replacing the 40-hour work week guaranteed by the Labor Standard Law with a "self-reliant" work week by which the management will force employees to work without a limit on working hours. This has been called for by the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren).

At the same time, reflecting the public opinion calling for a correction of the excessive hours of work, the outline proposes raising the overtime pay from 120 percent to 150 percent of base pay when working more than 30 hours of overtime a month.

The outline also sets out new policies, including one allowing companies to reject the reemployment of workers who are unjustifiably fired, on condition that they pay compensation.

It will drastically change the labor law system by enabling the management to create worse conditions through company regulations if a trade union in which the majority of workers take part agrees or a labor-management committee approves. Regarding the individual workers' agreement as unnecessary, the proposal will rob minority trade unions of their right to collective bargaining.

Business circles have been demanding so-called "labor-management autonomy" in order to promote deregulation of employment. Dismantling regulations in the labor laws amounts to abandoning government responsibility to safeguard workers' health and safety. Ignoring the realities of workers, the outline responds to business circles' demands. It is dangerous that the ministry's new policy will seriously undermine the Labor Standard Law and weaken trade unions.

Under the Koizumi "restructuring" policy, labor conditions have been worsened and more workers were dismissed or forced to accept downgraded labor conditions while non-regular workers rapidly increased and long-hour works have become rampant.

What the government must do is to tighten the loose regulations instead of adversely revising the labor laws.
- Akahata, June 15, 2006