RENGO's Committee on Working Conditions got in shape basic plans for the 1999 Spring Struggle on 14 October 1998 and these plan will be a base for further discussions at a central workshop scheduled to take place on 29 and 30 October in Atami.

1. Actualization of RENGO's counterproposals and The Spring Struggle
   The Demand Actualization Headquarters of RENGO should be a central driving force in ensuring economic and employment policies aiming at economic recovery and employment stability. Demands to be given the highest priority should narrow down to those closely related to better living standard and the budget.
   
   
2. Comprehensive approach for the total improvement
   In order to establish new work rules, RENGO will tackle to improve collective agreements in the view of ensuring gender equality and jobs for the aged. It will also seek for the improvement and full implementation of labour legislation, in particular Labour Standards (revised) Law, Dispatched Workers Law, Employment Stability Law and Part-time Workers Law.
   
   
3. The Spring Struggle as a mechanism for fair distribution
   The Spring Struggle is a mechanism of the fair distribution of social income and in a wider sense a practical site of labour-management consultations. Following the concept which RENGO is insisting to date that wage increase contributes to economic recovery, the 1999 Spring should be considered as a tackle to strive for living improvement, economic recovery and employment creation. Shift to individual-specific wage system should be promoted to correct the disparity and the horizontal wage determination system.
   
   A tackle by organized workers in the Spring Struggle is the starting point of fair distribution of social income. In order to spread the result of the private sector, mass actions and social appeal should be organised at the peak so that the ripple effect on the public sector and unorganised workers will be enhanced. Organising and legislative minimum wages should be integrated to link the wage increase of the organized and the intra-company minimum wage with the wage hike for the unorganized.

Demand and approaches

1. Wages
   Japanese microeconomic policy should aim at achieving a gradual shift from negative growth made in last two year to economic recovery in the coming fiscal year. Under such circumstance, wages should be determined taking into account total current conditions, such as low economic growth and serious economic and industrial situations, although they should be increase at least for living improvements on the assumption that the economic growth rate is 3%. The priority should be given both to the situations of industries/enterprises and the living of workers.
   
   
2. Shortening working hours
   Shorter working hours should be achieved not only for the creation of the society free of pressure, but also for job creation. RENGO's affiliates should confirm with the management the programme of achieving 1800 working hours by the year of 2000 and also should be integrated in making demands and setting a struggle position from autumn 1998 to spring 1999. They should also review the practices at the workplace in the view of raising the awareness of shorter working hours throughout the years.
   
   
3. Stabilising employment and establishing fair work rules
   RENGO will strengthen its effort to arrange labour legislation to establish fair work rules in response to diversified employment/working styles. It will back the deliberation at the Council and the Diet to ensure that the revised Labour Standard Law and the Bill on the revision of the Dispatched Workers Law does not deteriorate the employment situation and workers' rights.
   Toward the stabilisation of employment, RENGO will deepen the consultation with the central and local governments and employers/business organizations. RENGO and Nikkeiren (Japan Federation of Employers' associations will jointly request the Government to draft and implement programmes based on their proposals for settle the employment problems.
   
   
4. Policy demands
   Main themes of the policy demands toward the year of 1999 are:
   1) To implement economic measures focusing on the stability in employment and living;
   2) To implement emergency employment measures;
   3) To establish fair work rules and the enactment of the Manufacturing Foundation Act;
   4) To establish reliable social security systems;
   5) To rebuild a transparent administrative system and responsible politics;
   6) To expand labour and social policies aiming at the equal society;
   7) To build a recycle economic/social system and to strengthen the environment protection measures.