5.15 Action Toward Realizing RENGO's Proposal for the Labor Standards Law
(22 May 1998)

For the deliberation of the bill for the Labor Standards Law at the House of Representatives, the mass action was extended around the area of government offices and the Diet in Tokyo center by 10,000 people. Total of 100,000 had joined the action all over the country. The participants, who had assembled at various railway stations in Tokyo, put white jackets on and walked around the Kasumigaseki area by appealing for the revision of the bill. Considerable number of parliament members from parties those worked together with Rengo, such as the Democratic Party, had encouraged the participants and their appeal at the front entrance of the Member's Hall of the House of Representatives

Walking appeal on 15 May was executed to back up the Diet deliberation on the Labor Standards Law to be changed close to RENGO's proposal, as well as calling upon the public opinion on the matter. Being different from the traditional style of demonstration, participants on the day walked around the area individually and freely. In the gathering at the Hibiya Open Music Hall, Mr. Washio, President of RENGO, commented on the government's bill of the Labor Standards Law as deteriorating clearly that would invade the basic labor rights of workers. Mr. Washio also expressed the firm position by saying that Rengo would extend its movements to tackle the matter as a national concern, and would keep the fight which had started on the day. The Secretary General, Mr. Sasamori, appealed to the participating workers in white jackets of appeal by saying, "Today's 5.15 action definitely made a enormous impact to the Labor Commission of the House of Representatives. The Labour Minister Ibuki had stated not to consider the RENGO's proposal which has only 8 million union members. It's high time to show the power of 8 million." The lawyers, Mr. Miyazato and Mr. Kodama, from the Cheering Group for Realizing Rengo's Proposal, attended and stressed that workers needed stable employment and effective working time shortening in the tide of growing recession and restructuring.
The action on 5.15 adopted the appeal, "by consolidating power and action from all the working places, we shall stop the streamline of loosing the existing labor standards."



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