(1) Protecting the rights of all foreign workers
    All individuals working in Japan should be subject to labour laws and regulations guaranteeing proper working conditions and occupational health and safety standards, and be protected by labour and social insurance schemes. Even if foreign workers are illegal, in violation of the Immigration Act, and are thus engaging in unauthorized work, their human rights should be observed equally with those of Japanese. Also, as a matter of course, they should be subject to Japanese labour laws and regulations and should be given protection under labour and social insurance schemes. RENGO will contribute to promoting the development of a legal and institutional framework that will serve to truly materialize these benefits for foreign workers. There should be no double standards that discriminate against foreign workers.
    Specifically, RENGO will help foreign workers become fully aware of Japanese labour and social security laws and regulations, ensure that employers observe these laws and regulations, and urge the government to launch, as soon as possible, programs to require employers to explain working conditions and occupational health and safety requirements at their workplaces to foreign workers.

(2) Measures against unauthorized work
    Measures to uncover employers who employ illegal workers should be strengthened.

(3) Toward a society of coexistence with foreigners
    Needless to say, the need for legal restrictions on foreign workers does not mean that Japanese society should be closed to foreigners. Japan should aim to be a nation that flexibly accepts coexistence with foreigners and their different cultures. To this end, RENGO will urge the government to initiate efforts to guarantee foreigners residing in Japan of proper housing, unrestricted use of public facilities, and equal access to social infrastructure on a par with Japanese.

(1) RENGO’s basic stance on the “movement of persons”
    All policy decisions on the “movements of person” must be made based on a medium- and long-term viewpoint of contributing to the spontaneous and sustainable social development of the countries or economies involved, rather than a short-term viewpoint of the temporary needs of the export country or a transient problem of labour supply and demand in the recipient country.
    All decisions on the acceptance of foreign workers should be made by Japanese society as a whole, based on an adequate consideration of possible adverse effects on domestic employment, medical care, housing and education, cultural friction, and security, since these will generate enormous costs, including non-monetary ones, that will have to be borne by Japanese society into the future. Also, it is important to remember that the international movement of persons has substantial impacts on the exporting country and the foreign workers themselves.

(2) Stance on the acceptance of foreign workers in Japan
    In accordance with the discussions above, any policy decision in favor of accepting foreign workers in Japan should limit acceptance to job types that require expertise, technology and skills, and in principle, consideration should be given to maintaining a balance with domestic employment and a national consensus in favor of such a policy decision. Furthermore, in order to protect domestic workers and the working conditions of Japanese workers, foreign workers should be given jobs with appropriate working conditions, which are the same as those of Japanese workers.
    We oppose any relaxation of the present system of residential status and eligibility for employment that would allow foreign workers to perform unskilled labour. Since those unskilled foreign workers who engage in unskilled labour are likely to adversely effect the employment situation and working conditions in Japan, they should not be accepted even in the future. In Japan, atypical labour has been spreading and the employment structure has become increasingly stratified, so that acceptance of unskilled foreign workers without careful consideration is likely to lock them into the bottom of the employment strata. In addition, prior to adopting an employment policy to use foreign workers to supplement the domestic labour shortage caused by the declining birthrate, we must improve the present employment situation in Japan, including effective solutions for unemployed collage graduates, as well as the huge number of long-term part-time workers and NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), and the creation of an environment to help use aged and female workers more effectively.

(3) Stance on FTAs and EPAs
    With regard to exclusive occupations, such as medical doctors, nurses and attorneys, who are required to obtain state-certified qualifications to work as professionals, the mutual recognition of qualifications between countries, which is now being discussed in FTA/EPA talks, should not be permitted. If foreigners wish to engage in professional services with exclusivity rules, they should be required to acquire the necessary qualifications under relevant Japanese laws. For home care workers and other professionals, for which Japanese qualification systems have not yet been established, foreign workers should not be accepted, because it is currently difficult to distinguish these professional jobs from unskilled labour.

    RENGO, Local RENGOs, affiliates and individual unions will provide, in partnership with NPOs, labour consultation services for foreign workers to protect them from violations of their human rights. Further, the unionization of foreign workers will need to be examined in the future.